Heart Of Ice
by NightBeast
Summary: Sasuke and Sakura have a new chance at a life together. Unfortunately their new chance together starts off because he needs a wife: for the sole purpose of producing heirs. Can she ever get his love? Or will he be cold towards her until she has a son?
1. Sasuke's Return

Heart of Ice  
Chapter One  
Pairing: Sasu/Saku  
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, nor the characters, no matter how much I want to!

* * *

Sasuke Uchiha was the object of every girls fantasy- tall, muscular, and completely, drop-dead sexy. All the girls loved to watch him just walk by because he carried himself with such control and he had this…power…always coming from him. Wherever he went, at least half of the girls were there, and that included Sakura. Most of the time they had to keep the drool in their mouth whenever he so much as looked at him. 

Sakura, ever since she remembered, had had a crush on Sasuke. She had gotten teased by the kids in her class, gotten into a fight with her best friend, and eventually even the man himself had scorned her. Now, at age 19, it was no different. He had just gotten back, and he still had the power to rob her of her breath.

She watched him walk down the street, wishing on some star in the sky, that one day, one day very soon, he'd be hers. Hers and only hers.

* * *

_Why am I here? _Sasuke wondered as he walked through the streets of the village. _Because you need a wife._ He had finally killed Itachi, and broken free of Orochimaru, and was now under the pressure of restoring his clan. _And in order to do that, I need to find a wife and have her bear me lots of sons. _He thought back over the time he had known a lot of the people around her, and tried to recall some of the girls. _There's Hinata, Ino, Temari, TenTen, and Sakura._ He kept on walking through the streets. He spotted a very pretty girl with waist-length pink hair. _Sakura! _He kept on walking, not even bothering to say hi or anything at all. He went over to the apartment he remembered Naruto staying at, but was surprised when a very large Hinata opened the door with a little girl attached to her leg. "Is Naruto here still, Hinata?"

"Sasuke? Is that you?" Hinata asked, clearly surprised.

"Yes. Is Naruto around?" he asked, not wanting to waist time.

"Is that Sasuke I hear, Hinata?" Naruto called. When he got to the door, the little girl said, "Daddy!" and Naruto bent down to pick her up.

"Yes. Are you two finally married?" he asked.

"Why don't you come in and I will fill you in on what's happened since you've left." Naruto said, motioning Sasuke inside.

"Okay." Sasuke followed him inside, shocked to see two other kids inside.

Naruto chuckled. "Those are the twins. Two little girls."

"Don't you have any boys?" Sasuke asked.

"Nope. Not yet. Hinata's due any week, though."

"Doesn't that bother you?" Sasuke wondered.

"Nope. I love my three little girls." Naruto set his oldest daughter down. "Go help Mommy." She ran off and Naruto turned to Sasuke. "Shikamaru's the new Hokage, and him and Temari got married around three years ago. They have two kids, both are little girls. Ino married a man from a different village right after you left, and the last I heard was that she has five kids. Three boys and two girls."

"Wait a minute. Why didn't her and Choji get married?" Sasuke asked, very shocked.

"Because they got into an argument and separated. Choji, too, moved to another village, and he currently has two sons. I am pretty sure that the last I heard, Ino's husband died on an assignment, and Choji's wife died along with their baby girl during childbirth. When Choji hear, he said that he wanted to make things right with her because he never stopped loving her. So, him and his two sons might be traveling somewhere soon to go find the true love of his life."

_Ugh! All this mushy stuff is making me sick! _"What happened to everyone else?" he asked, trying to keep his voice level.

"Well, TenTen and Lee married each other about six years ago, and they have four boys and five girls. Two sets of triplets, and the others were born one at a time." Naruto took a deep breath before he continued. "Unfortunately, Lee died a couple days ago in a fight that involved four drunk men, and he got caught in the middle of it." Naruto stopped, wondering how far he should go.

"Anything else?" Sasuke asked.

"Um…well, Sakura's…um…she's…being chased after by Neji because TenTen and him split up, so since Sakura's the only one who never married, he wants her. In a way he's always liked her."

"What?! Why?" Sasuke asked. "I thought you said that everyone got married!"

"Neji's wife died during childbirth." Hinata said, bringing in drinks from the two of them.

"Interesting." Sasuke said. "Does he have any more kids?"

"No, he doesn't." Hinata replied, getting up to answer the cries of her two daughters.

As she left, Naruto asked, "Sasuke, why did you come back?"

"Because it's time for me to start the Uchiha clan again."

* * *

"Sakura!" Neji called. "Put aside this foolishness. Marry me." 

_Not this again!_ Sakura thought. "No." _How many more times do I have to tell him that?_

"Why not?! There's no one else to marry, and you're going to be an old maid before long!" Neji said.

"I don't care if you're the last person on earth! I don't love you, therefore I am not going to marry you!" Sakura said, annoyed that he still hasn't given up yet.

"You still love Uchiha, don't you?"

"So what if I do? Who are you to tell me who I should love? Or should not love?" she challenged.

"I-!" Neji stated, but another voice interrupted.

"I do believe that she doesn't want to marry you." came a deep voice.

_Sasuke! Did he just here what I said?_ Sakura thought, blushing. _What a great way to welcome him back!_ she thought dryly.

"Sasuke Uchiha. Never thought I'd see your face here again." Neji said, moving over to where Sakura was standing and put his arm around her waist.

"Neji! Release me this instant! You have no right to claim me!" Sakura said, not wanting to be touched by Neji. He released her, giving her a glare as he did.

"Fine! You'd be better off with me, Sakura! He's just going to use you! He'll never love you back, only hurt you more!" Neji cried out as he left. "I won't give up. Be ready, because I sure won't give up."

"You never had a chance," Sakura muttered under her breath. "Just stop while you're ahead."

"Sakura, will you marry me?" Sasuke asked, taking her hands in his.

* * *

To Be Continued...  
Hope you guys liked it. 

NightBeast


	2. Hasty Wedding

Heart of Ice  
Chapter 2  
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto…  
Pairing: Sasu/Saku

* * *

It's been a week since Sasuke prposed to Sakura. She had told him that she wasn't sure if she was ready for a strong commitment like that, even though on the inside she knew she wanted to be with him more than anything. _Well, looks like I got my wish. _Sakura thought. _Not the way I wanted it to happen, but it'll have to do._

She walked around her room, knowing that she'd say yes to his proposal, and also knowing that he doesn't love her. _It's the price I'll have to pay!_ She got the nerve to go out to where Sasuke was staying. When she got there, she was surprised to see him waiting there, as if he had anticipated her coming to see him.

"Do you have an answer for me?" Sasuke asked.

"Yes, I do have an answer for you." She took a deep breath for courage. "Yes, Sasuke, I will marry you."

"Good. I'll go look for the priest. Be ready for us by one or two this afternoon." Sasuke declared, leaving no room for agreement or disagreement.

"All right." She turned around and left. _Well, looks like I'm about to get married! And to Sasuke Uchiha, too!

* * *

_

Sakura just finished cleaning out her apartment, getting ready for Sasuke and the priest to come over so that they could go over the wedding preparations. _I can't believe this is happening!_ She heard a knock on the door, and went to go answer it, already knowing that it was Sasuke. "Hello." she said, inviting the two men in.

"Hello." the priest said, and Sasuke just nodded his head.

"Let's get this ceremony over with." Sasuke said gruffly.

_Ceremony? What's he talking about? _Sakura wondered. _Are we getting married today?_

The priest motioned for them to stand together, and he immediately started the ceremony, and when he asked her if she would take Sasuke as her lawful wedded husband, she just said, "Yes." She was very shocked that this was moving so quickly. _We're getting married now!_ Sasuke agreed to take her as his lawful wedded wife, and then the priest said that he could kiss his bride. She jumped when his cold lips touched hers for a brief second. The priest announced them as husband and wife, then she was startled once again as she heard clapping and cheering from outside. She turned to see half of the village standing there observing the whole thing. There were a lot of "It's about time!" and "Finally!" and "You finally got the nerve, eh, Sasuke?" Then they all left when the priest left, giving the newlyweds their time alone together.

Sasuke came to her and said, "Are you ready to perform your wifely duties?"

She only looked at him. "Sure…" _What is he talking about?_

He looked at her. "Are you going to take them off, or will I?"

"I will." She watched as he took his clothes off, and realized she hadn't gotten anywhere. She quickly took all of her clothes off, and admired his body. _I wonder what this will be like? _She didn't have long to wait…

* * *

Sakura lay there, barely containing her tears as her husband got up. He dressed, cast her a look, then left. _What just happened? Who was that? _she wondered. _It was so…cold. _She remembered the feel of his hands on her body, so rough and she remembered the way he had kissed her. It had felt so…empty. Void of emotion. _What kind of man did I marry?

* * *

_

Sakura soon realized that the only reason that Sasuke slept with her was to have her provide him with an heir so that he could be that much closer to restoring his clan. He told her one day that they were going to move somewhere else. Somewhere where the area would be great to set up his 'empire' for him and his clan. "I want my sons to have the very best." he had said. She had wondered about asking about a daughter, but was afraid of his reaction.

After the first week of being married, she rarely saw Sasuke because he was always off training or something. The only time she'd seen him was at the end of the day when he'd come to her bed, and he would 'make love' to her. She knew that he didn't love her, but shouldn't he be a little gentle with her?

More and more time went by, and each encounter that they had got even more colder (if that was even a possibility) until it got to the point where he would come, touch her a little, spill his seed inside of her, and leave her there, alone, on her bed. She wouldn't stop hoping, though. _I want him to love me! More than anything, I want him to love me!_

The first month went by, and Sakura lost a little more of herself every day. She lost all of her hopes and dreams, too. She remembered how she always dreamed that her and Sasuke would get married and be happily in love, and their first week of being married would be filled with laughter, joy, and passion. Love, too. But, of course, it didn't happen. She recalled how she wanted to celebrate their one-month anniversary. _That's _definitely _not going to happen! _Sasuke had said that he was going to be gone today, tomorrow, and the next day. _I'm going to be all alone. Oh well. I'm used to it.

* * *

_

Another month went by, and Sakura got sick. She was so sick to the point that she was throwing up every morning, any time she smelled food she didn't like or couldn't stand, and every night. After about two weeks of being sick, she decided to go to the doctor's. He confirmed her suspicions. She was pregnant! She went home, and she told Sasuke.

"Good." He told her that he was needed to go on a mission, and not to expect him back anytime soon. Then he left.

_He didn't even say take care! _Sakura thought as she felt tears sting her eyes. _When will you start to care about me, Sasuke?_

The days went by, and she spend a lot of her time with Hinata and their new baby boy. _He's so cute! Maybe I'll have a baby boy, and he'll look just like Sasuke._

She also spent some time with Temari. She became really good friends with her, too. She found out that Temari didn't love Shikamaru, and he didn't love her until after their first baby was born.

"But why did you two sleep together if you didn't love each other?" Sakura wanted to know.

"Because we both knew that it was important to make it look like it would be a profitable match for both villages." Temari had replied.

"Was it…cold between you two? And heartless?"

"Surprisingly, no, it wasn't. But let me tell you, it got a little awkward because in bed we could respond better than in every day activities. After we fell in love, everything changed." Temari said, a sparkle in her eyes. "He even used his shadow possession jutsu to hold me still and make me hear his declaration of love."

"Really?" Sakura asked, knowing Sasuke would never do anything that romantic.

"Yep. And want to know something else? I'm pregnant again!" Temari exclaimed excitedly.

"Really?! That's so cool! Maybe our children can grow up together as friends!" Sakura said. "Hinata's son will only be a couple months older, too."

"That would be really nice." Temari said and they went on talking, and Sakura got tired and went home as fast as her nine-month pregnant stomach would allow. She got home and lied down on her bed. She was in the middle of her nap when she felt pains across her abdomen. They didn't last for long, but they were really painful. _It's time for my baby to come, and I'm all alone! I don't even know the first thing about babies! _She screamed as another pain came shooting across her abdomen. _What am I going to do?_

_

* * *

_TO BE CONTINUED...  
Hopefully you liked this chapter...  
NightBeast 


	3. Noroi

Heart of Ice  
Chapter 3  
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto!  
Pairing: Sasu/Saku

* * *

Sakura was in the middle of another pair when the door burst open. "Sakura! Are you okay?" Naruto asked. "I heard screaming coming from inside your house, and I ran over here."

"D-does it…look…like it?" Sakura panted, feeling another pain coming.

"Where's Sasuke?" Naruto asked, starting to panic.

"Gone." She replied, trying to focus on the conversation.

"Are you in labor?" Naruto asked, in full panic now.

"No! I'm…just…gasping…and panting…for breath! Yes!" she said as she screamed again.

"I'll be right back." Naruto said, and he left. He brought back Hinata and Temari.

"Okay. Let's get this baby born! Naruto, go outside and wait with our son." She handed their son to him, and he quickly left. "Sakura needs to get changed so she can be comfortable as she gives birth to this baby!"

Hinata and Temari made preparations for Sakura to have a safe delivery- as free of pain and discomfort as possible.

"Sakura, I need you to spread your legs and to start pushing. That's it. Deep breaths, then let it out. Keep on pushing. You're doing great." Temari instructed and encouraged her.

"I…can't…do this!" Sakura yelled, pushing will all her might, but the pain soon became unbearable.

"Yes, you can! We've already done this two times, and look at us! We're alive and strong." Temari said, stroking her hair behind her ear and wiping her brow with a cool cloth.

"Keep pushing! I'd say two or three more because I can see the head! Keep pushing!" Hinata said.

Sakura took a deep breath, then pushed with all her might. She bore down as much as she could, willing the baby to come out. After a couple more pushes, the baby was out. "It's a girl!" Hinata exclaimed. "She looks just like her father, but has her mother's temper already!" Hinata declared as the baby girl wailed, as if demanding food and attention.

"What are you going to name her?" Temari wondered.

Sakura thought for a moment. "I think…Noroi Uchiha."

"That's beautiful!" Temari exclaimed. "Little Noroi."

Sakura was about to reply, but the door suddenly burst open. "Is it a boy?" Sasuke asked.

"No, it's not. It's a beautiful baby girl." Hinata exclaimed.

"What?! No, it can't be a girl!" he exclaimed. He pointed a finger at Sakura. "You did this on purpose! You knew I wanted a son, but you had a girl instead. How could you?!" He stormed out, slamming the door behind him, causing Sakura and little Noroi to cry.

"Shh…it's okay. He'll change someday." Temari said, stroking her head.

"No he won't! Not until he has a son!" Sakura sobbed.

"Just think. It will give you more time together." Hinata said, wiggling her eyebrows.

"Hinata!" Sakura exclaimed.

"What? When you have three kids, you kind of get used to being intimate with your husband." Hinata replied.

"At least your husband wants to be intimate with you." Sakura mumbled. _Secretly, that's what I'm afraid of.

* * *

_

As soon as she was able to, Sasuke came to her bed. "This time, you will have a son." he ordered her.

"Sasuke, I didn't have a girl on purpose! I wanted to have a boy, too, but I love our little girl. Why can't you?" Sakura demanded, trying to not break apart inside.

"Because I want sons, not daughters." Sasuke removed his shirt, and ordered, "Remove your clothes." When she hesitated, he said, "Or I'll do it by force."

_Why is he doing this? Doesn't he realize that he's that one that choses the gender of the baby? _She removed her dress, then her shorts. He came to her, and told her to lie down. He bent over her, totally naked, his hands braced above her head. She looked up into his eyes, and if it was possible, she'd say that his eyes were colder than on their 'wedding night.' She didn't even flinch as he slid into her, thrusting in and out. She closed her eyes, trying to hold back her pain. She could feel his hands, ice cold, moving over her body and cupping her breasts. His kisses were cold and emotionless, and not very warm. She felt her stomach knot, knowing her climax was coming, but her only response was to groan slightly, making no move to touch him whatsoever. When he had climaxed, he rolled off of her, and got dressed. As he was leaving, he said, "Maybe after this, you'll get pregnant, and this time it will be a boy."

Sakura turned on her side, and curled into a ball, crying into her pillow as sobs wracked her body. She didn't have time to cry for long because Noroi was crying. It was her lunch time. She got up and went to feed her. _At least someone needs me for love and nourishment!

* * *

_

Sakura put up with the same treatment every night. Every night Sasuke would come to her, and each time afterwards, she'd curl up into a ball on her side and cry into her pillow. She spent most of her time with Noroi, who was growing up into the very image of her father (regardless of the fact that she wasn't even six months old yet!). The very one that wouldn't even look at her. He had asked Sakura to keep Noroi out of his sight because he didn't want to be reminded of the fact that he had a daughter instead of a son.

A month after he had come to her since the baby was born, he announced he was leaving on a new mission. He packed a bag, grabbed some things to eat, and left. Didn't even bother to say goodbye.

"Good. He can stay gone for as long as he wants." Sakura said to Noroi. "I wouldn't even care if he never came back." _Liar. You know you'd be devastated. Just because he doesn't love you doesn't stop you from loving him! You'd rather be with him regardless of the fact that he doesn't love you than loving him from afar._ "Oh, Noroi! Why do I love your daddy so much?" Noroi just smiled and chortled in her baby way.

At the end of the week, she had every single house chore she could come up with done, and was about ready to go insane. She decided to make new clothes for Noroi because she was almost three months old, and she was growing so fast. _Before I know it, she'll be in kindergarden!_

_

* * *

_

_TO BE CONTINUED..._

Hope you liked this chapter!  
NightBeast


	4. Time of Healing

Heart of Ice  
Chapter 4  
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto!  
Pairing: Sasu/Saku

* * *

Sasuke was out on the trail thinking about what Shikamaru had told him. "_Why do you feel the need to be absent so much from your wife? Is she that unpleasing to you? You should really make an effort to want to see her more often. After all, she is the mother of your children."_ Sasuke was resting by a river so that he could continue on his mission. _Why won't he leave me alone? What I do and don't do is my business and nobody else's. Why can't they see that?_ He tried not to feel that prickly feeling of guilt, but for some reason it would not go away…

* * *

Sakura decided it was way past time to visit her friends. They decided to get together over at Sakura's house, leaving the kids in Shikamaru and Naruto's care. 

"This is so nice to get out and stretch!" Hinata exclaimed, trying to stretch as much as her pregnant self would allow.

"I agree." Temari exclaimed.

"I'm going to go insane by myself, and I appreciate your husbands offering to look at the kids while we had some girl time to ourselves." Sakura said, rising to make tea.

"No problem. Noroi is such a good baby, and she looks exactly like Sasuke! Has he even cared to once hold her or to even look at her?" Temari asked.

"Nope. Refuses to even mention her name or have me say it whenever I start to talk about her. He usually glares at me and stalks away. Well, whenever he's home, that is." Sakura said, bringing in some cups.

"Really? I'm sorry, Sakura." Hinata said.

"Whenever he's around, it's long enough for him to sleep with me, and when he's done, he leaves. He always says, 'Hopefully you'll have a boy.' then he leaves! I don't know how much more I can take from than man!" Sakura said, tears coming to her eyes.

They kept talking, but suddenly Shikamaru came in. "Sakura! Sasuke's hurt!"

"What?! Please take me to him." Sakura said, and on the inside, her heart almost stopped. She followed Shikamaru to a clinic where Sasuke was lying, blood oozing out of his stomach and left leg. "Sasuke!" she cried, running to him.

"Sak-Sakura?" he barely whispered.

"Shh…you need to rest. Yes, it's me." Sakura put her hands on his chest, and closed her eyes. She focused on healing him, and when she felt satisfied, she moved down to his leg. She healed his leg, too, and got up. When she got up, she felt very dizzy and had to sit down. "I just used too much chakra. That's all." She looked at her friends, and told them to go home. "If you'll take care of Noroi, I'll stay here with Sasuke."

"I'll take her home with us." Temari said.

Her friends left, and she lay down on the bed next to Sasuke. She was surprised to feel his arms come around her, holding her close to his chest. She sighed. _If only he'd do this every night. _She thought that this might mean that he had a soft spot for her after all.

She woke up before him and bathed his face with a cold washcloth. He woke up, and he instantly noticed he was healed. He tried to sit up, but he became a little dizzy. "You need to rest and eat to regain the rest of your strength. Especially after all that blood that you lost."

"Why did you come? You could have let me die and end all of your troubles."

"I couldn't do that to the father of my unborn child. He deserves to know his daddy." she said, knowing he'd be surprised and happy.

"Are you saying you're pregnant again?" he asked.

"Yes, I am."

"That's good news." he said, then lay back down and closed his eyes, a smile on his lips.

* * *

A week later, Sasuke had been released from the hospital and Sakura left to go get Noroi. When she arrived at their house, she heard frantic shouts from Shikamaru, and Temari trying to calm him down. _What in the world is going on?_

She knocked on the door, and a very disheveled Shikamaru answered it. "Sakura! Please help me!"

"What's wrong?" Sakura asked, instantly worried.

"Temari's gone into labor and is having my baby!" He pulled her inside the house, then dragged her to their bedroom where Temari was moving around calmly. He left, closing the door behind him.

"Aren't you supposed to be in labor?" Sakura asked.

"I am. The pains aren't as bad until the baby is actually coming. And you really know the difference after you've had two or more of them!" She stopped as another pain came along. "That one was stronger and more quick than the others. I think it's time." She went over to the bed and laid down. She had her legs spread and screamed as a pain tore across her abdomen. Shikamaru burst through the door, unable to hear his wife screaming and him not being there with her. When he saw her, legs splayed, pain written across her face, he slumped against the wall.

Temari, looking up at her husband's pale face, shouted, "Shikamaru, if you're going to be in here while I'm giving birth to our son, you had best not faint on me! It's your fault that I'm even in this predicament! Get your lazy butt over here and mop my brow or something useful!"

Shikamaru got up off of the wall, swallowed and walked over to Temari. He grabbed a dish towel, and tenderly wiped her brow. He held her hand and winced as she squeezed the life from it.

Sakura kept on encouraging her to push, much the same as when Temari and Hinata had helped her, and was relieved when a short time later Temari gave birth to a beautiful baby boy. Sakura left and as she left she heard them whisper, "His name's going to be Tsuyoshi."

"That's a beautiful name." Sakura said. "Well, I'm here to get Noroi, so I will get her and let you two be alone with your new little blessing." She went out to where Noroi was sleeping. _My precious baby! If only your daddy would accept you! _She picked up Noroi, and left the house, thinking for the many blessings this new baby will be.

When Sakura got back, she was thrilled to know that Sasuke was feeling better. Her good mood dropped quickly when she realized that he still didn't want to be in the same room as his daughter.

"I'm going to go change some of my bandages." Sasuke said.

"Do you need any help?" Sakura asked.

"No. Just keep that baby away from me. That's help enough." he said, leaving the room.

Sakura started making dinner, and found that she was out of spices. "Sasuke? I'm going to the store."

"Fine."

_That's it? That's all he has to say?! _"I'll be back in time to make dinner!" _Well, finish dinner._

"Fine."

"Unresponsive bump on a log!" she muttered under her breath as she went to get Noroi ready for the trip. It went without saying that she needed to take the baby with her. Especially if she wanted to keep Noroi alive.

They were walking together, but a hand on her shoulder stopped her. "Sakura?"

"Neji! How are you?" Sakura asked politely when what she really wanted to do was run in the opposite direction.

"I'd be better if you'd run away with me instead of staying with that loser of a man you call your husband. Such a man doesn't deserve you or his precious daughter right here." Neji said, looking at her like she was a meal that he needed to devour since he hadn't had one in a long time.

"Neji, you know that that's impossible. I'm going to have another baby soon, and I need to stay with Sasuke. Even if he doesn't like me, I still love him." She replied, bending to pick up Noroi. "Now if you'll excuse us, we must be on our way."

"Don't think I'll give up on you." Neji warned, letting her walk away.

_Great! Just what I need!_ She kept on walking, feeling the need to get home as quickly as possible.

* * *

Sasuke sat in the trees, watching the exchange between Sakura and Neji. _So that's where she 'hangs' out! At least I'm not keeping her from him! I thought that she didn't like him very much. _Sasuke was startled to know that she and Neji had a 'relationship.' _What do you expect, Sasuke Uchiha? She doesn't get it from you, so she needs it from someone else. _Still, a sinking feeling wouldn't leave the pit of his stomach, but this time it wasn't guilt, but something else he couldn't even name, or want to name for that matter.

* * *

_TO BE CONTINUED..._

NightBeast


	5. Another Girl For Sasuke

Heart of Ice  
Chapter 5  
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto…  
Pairing: Sasu/Saku

* * *

Sakura was getting very tired. _I'm nine months pregnant, and I just want this baby to come!_ She walked around, picking up toys that her almost 12-month old baby, Noroi, had strewn about her room. _I really hope this baby's a boy! Maybe Sasuke will like me a lot better if it is. _She arched her back, trying to work out all the kinks in it. She ahd a scheduled Lunch with Temari, Hinata, and their children. Tsuyoshi was 6 months old, and Hinata's new baby boy was already 4 months old! _Everyone's getting so old now!_

Just as she was getting the food ready, she felt pains across her abdomen. _Just great!_ She went to sit on the chair in the kitchen, and counted how long it lasted, then waited for the next one to come. It was a lot shorter than her first pregnancy ones. _Hopefully they'll get here before the baby comes! It's just my fate!_

A knock sounded. "Come…in!" she shouted.

"Sakura? Are you okay?" Temari asked, setting Tsuyoshi down on the play mat with Noroi.

Hinata set her baby on the play mat next to where Temari and Sakura's children were playing.

"Yes. The baby's coming." she replied, easing into a standing position. She walked over to the bed in her room.

Over 2 hours later, a baby girl was born. "She's beautiful! Looks like she'll be taking after her mother-again! Little Noroi looks even more like Sasuke now, but this one will definitely look like you." Hinata exclaimed.

"Wonderful!" she said, dreading when Sasuke finds out about the new baby. "Thankfully he's on a mission, and won't be back for at least a month or two." she exclaimed, happy she can enjoy her little girl for at least a whole month before total chaos will erupt.

After a pause, Sakura asked, "Would you like to come back in a couple of days? We can have a birthday party for Noroi since her birthday is coming up.

"Sure! We'd love to! We'll bring our kids, too." Temari answered for both of them.

"That's great! See you in a couple of days." Sakura said.

"What are you going to name her?" Hinata asked.

"Yeah! Tell us before we leave!" Temari demanded, picking Tsuyoshi up.

"Kiko." Sakura said, cuddling her new daughter to her chest.

Her friends left, leaving Sakura alone with her two daughters. "Noroi, meet your new baby sister, Kiko."

"Kee!" Noroi chortled, clapping her hands.

_Well, at least we'll love you! _Sakura thought, getting ready for Kiko's first meal.

* * *

It was the day of Noroi's first birthday, and Kiko's fifth day of being with them. _How time flew! I feel like just yesterday I had given birth to Noroi! _A knock sounded, interrupting her thoughts. She rose up to answer it, and was happy to see Temari and her group of children standing there. "Shh...they're both finally sleeping." 

"Oh. I understand how rare and wonderful that feeling of solitude is!" Temari explained, guiding her children to the playroom.

"It is wonderful." Sakura concluded, watching Temari's girls take care of their new baby brother. "Your girls love Tsuyoshi."

"Yeah, they do. It's really nice because Shikamaru and I have more time alone together." Temari said, sitting down. "And he needs it more than I do. The quiet, that is. Hokage is more work than you think. It's not over-taxing, but you know Shikamaru."

"Yes, I do." The doorbell sounded again. "Must be Hinata. Will you go get my girls for me, Temari?" Sakura asked as she went to answer the door. "Hello everyone!"

"Hello!" Hinata said, ushering her four children into the kitchen. "Hope we're not late."

"No, of course not!" Sakura said, taking Kiko from Temari.

"Hello, Hinata!" Temari said, hugging Hinata.

"Hello." Hinata replied, sitting down at the table.

They watched the children play, with the exception of Kiko, who sat on her mother's lap.

"Aren't they so grown up?" HInata said, observing the children play.

"Not yet!" Sakura exclaimed. "Don't tell me that! I just gave birth to both of them a little over a year ago! But they are growing up fast."

They chatted a little while longer, then ate some cake and went home. Sakura picked up Noroi, and cuddled her close to her body.

* * *

Before she knew it, it was time for Sasuke to come back from his mission. _Here we go again. I wonder if I should just walk around naked! Once he hears that 'we' have a daughter, there will be no stopping him!_

She changed and fed Kiko, then got Noroi some food.

"Sakura, did you have the baby?" a deep voice demanded.

_Hello Honey, I'm home! Did you have the baby? Are you okay _(This is how Sakura wants to be greeted when Sasuke gets back from missions)?

"Yes, I did." She replied calmly while still getting Noroi's lunch.

"Well?" he demanded.

"It's another beautiful baby girl." She steeled herself for his angry outburst. And a good thing she did because he was very angry.

"What?!" he shouted. How could you? You did this on purpose, didn't you?" he accused her.

"No! Of course not! Why would I do that?" she cried.

"Because you want to spite me!" He stormed out of the house, and as he went out, he shouted, "I'm getting a mistress! I've had it with you! Maybe she'll give me the sons that I need!"

Sakura tried her best not to cry, but she couldn't stop the tears from coming out. Before she knew it, she felt strong arms come around her. _Sasuke? Could he be sorry? Does he really care about me? _She turned around, burrying her head in his chest, but something didn't feel right.

_

* * *

_Sasuke was walking around, trying to cool off. He regretted saying those words to her, but sometimes he got so frusterated with her! _Maybe I should go in and apologize to her. After all, it's not like she controls the baby. _He tried to reason with himself, but he didn't get to far because when he opened the door to their house, he was shocked.

"What, may I ask, is going on?" he demanded in a cold tone.

* * *

TO BE CONTINUED...

Sorry about the wait! I got caught up with school work and then summer break! I will try to update before I go on vacation, but if not, it should only be about 2 and a half weeks!  
NightBeast


	6. Hidden Affair?

Heart of Ice  
Chapter 6  
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto…

* * *

Sakura jumped back. "Sasuke!" She tried to pull away from her captor, but couldn't move. When she looked up, she gasped. "Neji! What the hell do you think you're doing?" 

"Nice try, Sakura. Your innocent act doesn't affect me very much though." Sasuke said, laughing coldly.

"For once, Uchiha, would you think of someone besides yourself? Sakura is innocent. I heard your yelling on the way home as I passed your house. How careless can you be? Telling the one person in this village who actually cares about you and loves you more than life itself that you're getting a mistress. A mistress! Over the fact that your wife has given you two daughters instead of sons! Yeah, you may not have any yet, but at least you have someone to love you and cherish you.

Secondly, unfortunately for me, she's not that kind of woman. She's way too good for you. If she didn't love you so much, I'd already have her for my own, instead of watching her slave away, obviously trying to please you. But you always seem to refuse her." Neji said, eyes blazing.

After pausing, he continued. "Tell me, Uchiha, when was the last time you actually looked at one of your beautiful daughters? Or when you don't take your wife for granted?"

"That's none of your business, Hyuga." Sasuke said coldly. "Our business is ours and ours alone." He would never reveal to Neji Hyuga just how deeply he was truly affected by his words, though.

"Not when you're mistreating her this much!" Neji replied hotly. "Someone should know about it."

Unable to stand it any more, Sakura looked pleadingly at Neji. "Neji, please…just go!" She didn't want Sasuke any more angry than he already was.

"For now, I will go. But I will be back!" Neji said, giving her a pointed look. He glared at Sasuke then left.

"Sasuke…" Sakura began, but stopped when he turned and glared at her.

"What the hell was that all about? Are you two having an affair or something?" Sasuke asked her.

"No! Didn't he already explain it to you? I would NEVER sleep with any other man but you, Sasuke." Sakura said emphatically.

"That's what you want me to think. Are those kids even mine? Are you sure someone didn't rape you or you willingly bedded them?"

"That's enough! I've stood here and listened to your accusations enough! For your information: I was raped! By YOU! Every single time you've come to me in my bed, I was raped!" She was yelling now, but she didn't care. Noroi and Kiko started crying at hearing their parent's angry words towards one another. Sakura ignored them, glad to finally voice her thoughts. "You have absolutely no right whatsoever to accuse me of betraying you, and you know it!"

"I wouldn't have to accuse you if you weren't a failure in every way possible!" At her look of hurt and betrayal, he knew that he had gone too far, but he still went on, unable to stop the mean and hateful things that were going on inside of his head. "Yes, you heard me right. What good's a wife if she can't even bear her husband sons? Maybe I should get a mistress so I can finally have a couple of sons!"

_What?_ "Fine. Go ahead. I don't care anymore. Do what you want, but the second you take a mistress, or when I find out about her, whichever one comes sooner, I'm leaving!" Sakura said hotly.

Sasuke just stared at her, not knowing what he could say to her sudden outburst. Deciding against saying anything, he just turned to leave. He stopped, though, right before he got to the door, and turned back around. He marched over to her and hauled her against him. "I forgot something." Before she could reply, he picked her up and literally threw her on the bed.

"What do you think you're doing?" Sakura shrieked, trying to break free, but he pinned her down with his body.

"Exercising my rights as your husband." He said, reaching down to take off her clothes. She tried to struggle. "Struggling will get you nowhere." He told her, laughing at her pathetic attempts to stop him.

"Please stop it!" she pleaded, tears coming to her eyes and running down her cheeks.

"Why? Tell me why I should?" He took his clothes off while straddling her. As he was taking his shirt off, she tried to bolt, but he lunged after her, knocking her to the ground. "I told you: escaping isn't an option."

_I need to try something! _She thought frantically. She was powerless to do anything, though. She tried one more time, but was thwarted. He picked her up- again- and carried her back to the bed. Desperate now, she said, "Sasuke! Please, think about what you're about to do! You're forcing me to do this! Again! You're raping me!"

"This isn't rape! You know you want this." He plunged into her, and as he was busy moving and pleasuring himself, he felt guilt at doing this to her. He couldn't help himself, though. If she left, he would never get to do this to her again. Every second he used her body, he created a bigger whole inside of her. Especially her heart.

* * *

Sakura lay there, too hurt emotionally to move. _How could he do that? _She heard Kiko crying, but took a couple more seconds before going to tend to her youngest daughter. _I was wrong about him. I thought he had a heart, but he doesn't!_ As she picked up Kiko, carried her over to the rocking chair to feed her, she thought about her earlier thoughts. _Maybe he does have a heart, but it's definitely frigid. It's a heart of ice.

* * *

_Sasuke was sitting in the middle of his training spot, thinking about what had just happened. _What the hell was I thinking? Just because Hyuga had her in his arms doesn't mean that she went there willingly! I really need to cool down my temper! _He ran a shaking hand through his hair, not completely believing what had just happened. _Why the hell do I lose my mind every time I'm around her?_

As he recalled Neji's words regarding his two daughters, he shivered. _I couldn't look at them! I'd be too afraid to start to love them! I don't even love their mother! _Then he froze. _Do I love Sakura? No! I don't love her!_ What he couldn't figure out was why he always felt so…different…around her when he was fine around everyone else.

He sat there, thinking, really thinking about what had just happened before he left their house. Then he thought to her pleading words before he lost all control and give in to his lust:

"_Sasuke! Please, think about what you're about to do! You're forcing me to do this! Again! You're raping me!"_

_Why did I do it? I never liked her loving me, but just when I was starting to warm up to her, I do something really stupid and cause her to hate me! No matter how much she loves me, I don't think that it will ever be enough to melt this heart of ice that resides in my body. _He thought. Then he felt something warm on his cheeks. He looked down where his hands where and was surprised to see that he was crying! _Oh, Sakura, what have I done?_

* * *

TO BE CONTINUED… 

Hope you liked it! This is definitely the last chapter until I get back!

NightBeast


	7. Sasuke's Mistake

Heart of Ice  
Ch. 7  
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, but I wish…  
Pair: SasuSaku

* * *

Sasuke had "moved" out of the house, and Sakura didn't care where he was. _That's not true, and you know it! _she thought, trying to finish making herself dinner. _If feels odd not having to make dinner for Sasuke anymore._ She sat down by herself, thankful the girls were sleeping.**

* * *

**It had been a week since Sasuke had found Sakura with Neji, and ever since his one moment of weekness, he'd hardened himself even more. _Sakura doesn't care about me at all! She just wants to be free from me. If that's the case, then I'll just get myself a mistress and help move her out of my life! _He paid no attention to the thoughts nagging him, telling him that it is his fault she doesn't want to be with him anymore. _That's too bad. She's not the only one that is a female and still single or available!_ He thought, but his heart told him that she was the only one for him. His mind pushed those thoughts away. _No she's not! And if she is, then I'll get over it._ He continued his thoughts, getting up from his spot and going to the bar. _I hope._

* * *

Sasuke walked to the bar, very intent on finding a mistress so that his wife didn't have to be continually hurt by him. _If you would treat her better, then you wouldn't have to worry about her being with Neji or anyone else! She'd be content with you! A man needs sons, not girls to carry on the family name and legacy. _He strode confidently up to the bar door, but when he put his hand on the door knob, he stopped. _Why do I suddenly feel guilty about this? Sakura obviously wants to have daughters, and that's what she's getting! Regardless of how much I want sons!_ He opened the door, and strode to the counter. He ordered a beer, then sat down at a table. As he waited he looked around the room, scanning the people to see if he could find a single girl who was pretty. He didn't have long to wait, though, when a girl brought herself over to the counter to sit with him. She was wearing a low-cut shirt and a very tight, short mini skirt. Her breasts were practically falling out of her shirt. _She's pretty enough, and her hips look like they're sturdy enough to give birth to fine sons._ She smiled at him and said, "Howdy, Gorgeous. Want some company?" She smiled seductively. 

_Bold. I like that in a girl._ "Sure thing, sweetheart, especially a pretty girl like you." He watched as she sat down. "Want a beer?"

"Sure." She replied, taking a sip of his. When she finished, she flicked her tongue around the edge of the bottle.

_Oh my goodness!_ He thought, feeling himself harden, imagining that tongue doing other things. "So, how is business tonight? It looks kind of…crowded."

She smiled. "It's been very good so far. If you're too crowded down here, then why don't we go upstairs?"

He nodded and stood up. "I'd love to." He followed behind her, hoping that she was as good in bed as she was at talking and how she looked. As he walked up the stairs, guilt plagued him once again, but he pushed it aside once more. _I need to do this. I want a son of my own. _But his guilt wouldn't be suppressed, as images of Sakura floated through his head, making him compare the girl in front of him with his wife.

_Sakura had wide hips, too, but they're from having given birth to two kids._ He noted, watching her hips swaying as she walked up the stairs.

_Sakura also has big breasts, bigger than this girls. That's probably due to the kids, too, even though she did have big ones before we married._ Sasuke instantly stopped his thoughts. _I need to focus on the here and now, not Sakura!_ "So, what's your name?" he asked, hoping to sound eager, not annoyed.

"Well, my parents called me Tsukushi, but you can call me anything you want." She purred, turning around, almost causing him to bump into her. She smiled when they were inches apart. She brought her mouth close to his and whispered, "I do special things when you call me special names."

_Damn! She makes me almost as hard as Sakura!_ He thought, thinking about the lust he felt charging through him. "Really? I can't wait to see what kind of…things…you do."

She just laughed and turned around, continuing up the stairs.

_Damn you, Sakura! Can't you stay the hell out of my head?_ He was fuming now because he really wanted to do this, especially now that he had a hard on, but his wife wouldn't leave him the hell alone! _Why me? A beautiful girl invites me to sleep with her, and I can't stop thinking about my wife who doesn't want me to even touch her! Grr!_ Sasuke pushed it all aside because they were now at the door to her room. _Here goes nothing!_

* * *

Sakura lay in her bed, and couldn't stop thinking about Sasuke. _What did I do wrong? Why didn't he want to stay?_ But she knew the answer, she wanted to _make_ love, not be used! She wanted him to love her as much as she loved him. _Is that too much for a girl to ask?_

* * *

_To Be Continued…_

I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, and I apologize for keeping it short and not updating soon enough!  
Hope to update the next chapter before the weekend!  
Have a wonderful 4th of July!  
NightBeast


	8. Heartbroken Sakura

Heart of Ice  
Ch. 8  
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, but I wish…  
Pair: SasuSaku

* * *

A.N.: I didn't put Sasuke in this chapter because I need to take care of Sakura first, so NO FLAMES or BAD reviews after reading this chapter, okay? Thank you!

* * *

_He's done it!_ Sakura thought wildly. _He's taken a mistress._ She remembered what she'd told him if he took a mistress. _And I was serious. I'm leaving him for good!_ Just then a song started playing on the radio. She paused to listen to the words. 

"I'm about to lose control"

_Sounds a lot like me right now!_

"I, I don't know why  
Why you need some reason to feel lost inside  
You, you know that I'm alright  
You know that I'm just the kind of girl that feels so hurt and smiles"

_That really fits me! Oh Sasuke! Why did you have to do that?_ She accused, ready to strangle him.

"I don't use excuses  
Don't ask why  
It's just a breakdown  
It happens all the time  
So get out of my face  
Don't even try  
Ya wanna help me, just let me cry"

_That's all that I really want to do right now. Just curl up and cry my eyes and heartache out!_ She sat down on the edge of her bed.

"Yeah I loved you all my life  
You don't even know a thing I feel inside  
Know, by the look in my eye  
That I'm just fine but I might need you to hold me tight"

_Sasuke, why can't you hold me tight? I really need you to hold me tight._ Sakura thought, hugging her middle.

"I don't use excuses  
Don't ask why  
It's just a breakdown  
It happens all the time  
So get out of my face  
Don't even try  
Ya wanna help me, just let me cry

"I don't use excuses  
Don't ask why  
It's just a breakdown  
It happens all the time  
So get out of my face  
Don't even try  
Ya wanna help me, just let me cry

"I had a bad day, I'll cry if I want to, cry if I want to, cry  
I had a bad day, I'll cry if I want to, cry if I want to, cry  
I had a bad day, I 'll cry if I want to, cry if I want to, cry  
I had a bad day, I'll cry if I want to, cry if I want to, cry"

_I've had a bad life recently, and I really just want to cry! _Sakura thought, but shrugged it off. _I need to be strong. Strong for my girls._

"Just let me... cry

"Just let me cry, I'm crying, I'm breaking down...  
I'm breaking down just let me cry"

Just like the song said, she broke down and cried, unable to resist any longer. While she was crying, her daughters, Noroi and Kiko, came over and hugged her. "Mommy no cry!" Noroi said.

"I'm sorry, darling! Mommy's just so sad." Sakura said, smiling through her tears. She barely heard the end of the song, but still managed to hear it.

"I don't use excuses  
Don't ask why  
It's just a breakdown  
It happens all the time  
So get out of my face  
Don't even try  
Ya wanna help me, just let me cry

"I don't use excuses  
Don't ask why  
It's just a breakdown  
It happens all the time  
So get out of my face  
Don't even try  
Ya wanna help me, just let me cry"

Unable to stand another song like that, she got up and turned off the radio. "Girls, what do you say about a trip?"

Both girls agreed, and Sakura rose to start packing up their things. _I didn't think that he would ever get a mistress, _she thought, _but now that he has, I will NOT subject my daughter's to having another woman around or constintly worrying about whether or not their father is coming home each night._

She picked up the suitcases, and followed her daughter's out the door and to Temari's house. When she knocked on the door, she broke down again when Temari gently questioned her and told Temari everything. "It's okay, Sakura, it's okay. We'll take care of you. Don't worry about anything."

"Thank you Temari! Thank you so very much!" Sakura cried even harder. "You don't know how much this means to me and the girls!"

* * *

I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, and I apologize for keeping it kind of short and not updating soon enough! I plan to update some time before next weekend! Please don't lose heart about Sasuke! He'll come around (hopefully)!  
NightBeast

Oh! the song is Let Me Cry by Ashlee Simpson!


	9. Sasuke's Hangover

Heart of Ice  
Chapter 9  
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto…  
Pairing: SasuSaku

A.N.: This chapter contains lemon, and if you don't want to read it, then don't! I encourage you to, though! I am hoping that it's pretty good!  
A.N.: The last chapter and this one happen a week after chapter 7 (maybe a little less, like a couple of days).

ENJOY!

* * *

RECAP OF STORY SO FAR…YES, SINCE THE BEGINNING… 

Sasuke and Sakura are 19 years old, and Sasuke decides now is the time to build back his clan. Only problem: Sakura's the only one that's left! And Neji was trying to win her for herself, but Sasuke steps in and literally takes possession of her so Neji couldn't get her. They get married, and Sasuke and Sakura's ideas of sex are completely off! Sasuke just takes, not even bothering that he's practically raping his wife, and Sakura longed for tender moments of passion where she could learn more about her husband, especially his body.

Nine months after their wedding day, she gave birth to Noroi, whom Sasuke didn't want because she wasn't a boy to carry on the family name. Sasuke possessed her body as soon as she was able to, and then about 11-and-a-half months after Noroi was born, she gave birth to another girl whom she named Kiko. Thankfully, Kiko was born while Sasuke was on a mission, and she had some weeks of quiet.

Sasuke gets back about a month later, and of course he is as mad as an angry hornet! He says that Sakura had another girl on purpose and that she doesn't really want to help him restore his clan.

He storms off and sorts out his feelings of anger and betrayal, then decides to go back into the house. Well, he gets there and finds his wife in the arms of another man! He then attacks her verbally and creates this huge deal out of what he saw, thinking that it had been going on for a long time. When Sakura tries to tell him otherwise, he just tells her to shut up because he doesn't believe her. Neji tries to take the blame, but Sasuke doesn't want to hear it. Neji leaves, then Sasuke forces himself on Sakura, and then leaves. She's heartbroken because he acts like he doesn't care about her feelings at all.

Now that Sasuke left, with the threat about him going to get a mistress, Sakura is very depresses. The only thing keeping her going is the fact that her daughters need her. She keeps her hopes alive that he really won't go through with it.

But alas, it is not to be so because she found out that he had visited the bar and found a whore to sleep with. No that she's completely heartbroken, she moves out of the house, fulfilling her deal that she had made with him (if he found a mistress then she would leave him). She fleas to Temari and Shikamaru's house, knowing Temari would take care of her.

Now, Sasuke realizes the full impact of what he's just done...

* * *

Sasuke wrapped her in his arms, enjoying the feel of her pulled tight against him. When he bent his head down, she met him halfway and responded to the soft pressure of his lips moving against hers, opening willingly for him. He swept his tongue into her mouth, learning the sweet taste of her mouth, the different textures of her teeth and the roof of her mouth. 

She brought her arms up and circled them around his neck, one hand cupping the back of his head, bringing his head closer for better access. All she could think about was getting closer to him, having him caress her. Make love to her.

He pulled away from her and looked at hre, his dark eyes searching and intense.

Sasuke moved her gently backwards until she hit the bed. He kissed her again, tasting her lips tenderly, then more forcefully as she responded with equal measures of passion.

She felt his hands moving to hold her, felt the heat of them burning through her clothes at her waist and her back. Then his fingers raked upwards into her hair, enjoying the feel of the silk strands over his hand. He brought his hands back down and lifted her shirt above her head and took off her bra. He looked down at her breasts, enjoying the sight of them perked up and begging for him to touch. He brought her skirt down until it slid silently to the floor. He took off her panties with the skirt, and looked at her body, flushed with excitement.

He took off his clothes quickly, not able to stand not being in her and driving himself into her any longer. He followed her down to the bed and looked into her eyes...

* * *

"Sasuke! Sasuke wake up!" a voice called. 

"Where am I?" he asked groggily.

"You're at my house because I went to the bar to get you before you did something stupid!" Naruto said. "Shikamaru came to get me because he was concerned."

"So I didn't...do...anything?" he asked hesitantly.

"Nope. I caught you before you did, but you were pretty drunk. Apparently she keeps her own storage of beer up in her...room. If you can call it that." Naruto said.

"I had this most amazing dream...but the funny thing is, it was Sakura who was the girl in my dream." Sasuke said amazingly.

"Well, that's good! You're finally realizing that you love your wife!" Naruto exclaimed.

"I guess I do, but I screwed up because of that damn Hyuga!" Sasuke said. "I need to go home and sort everything out with her."

When he moved to get up, Naruto put a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry, Sasuke, but she isn't there anymore. She left the other night when word reached her about your trip to the bar and then upstairs to that girls room."

"WHAT?!" he exclaimed. "In that case, I really need to get home!"

"Why don't you rest for a little then go after her?" Naruto suggested gently.

"I guess." He laid back against the couch and promptly fell asleep. _Sakura, I will come and get you! And when I do, you will know how much I love you...and our girls! _He fell into a deep sleep, dreaming of how he can romance his wife when he finds her.

* * *

TO BE CONTINUED...

I hope you guys liked it, and I am excited that he's finally coming around! Looking forward to future chapters! Please R&R and I really hoped you guys liked it!  
NightBeast

Good News:  
She didn't get pregnant because he never had sex with her!  
He didn't betray Sakura!  
He finally realizes that he loves Sakura!  
He finally realizes that he loves his two daughters!


	10. Tsukushi's Story

Heart of Ice  
Chapter 10  
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto…  
Pairing: SasuSaku  
Author: NightBeast

ENJOY!!!

* * *

RECAP: 

"I had this most amazing dream...but the funny thing is, it was Sakura who was the girl in my dream." Sasuke said amazingly.

"Well, that's good! You're finally realizing that you love your wife!" Naruto exclaimed.

"I guess I do, but I screwed up because of that damn Hyuga!" Sasuke said. "I need to go home and sort everything out with her."

When he moved to get up, Naruto put a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry, Sasuke, but she isn't there anymore. She left the other night when word reached her about your trip to the bar and then upstairs to that girls room."

"WHAT?!" he exclaimed. "In that case, I really need to get home!"

"Why don't you rest for a little then go after her?" Naruto suggested gently.

"I guess." He laid back against the couch and promptly fell asleep. _Sakura, I will come and get you! And when I do, you will know how much I love you...and our girls! _He fell into a deep sleep, dreaming of how he can romance his wife when he finds her.

* * *

Naruto had taken Sasuke home early this morning, before he and Hinata had to train. Now, Sasuke was all alone, well, his thoughts were there to accompany him, and believe me, they were good enough to keep him company for a long time! 

Sasuke sat in his kitchen, trying to think of a way to get his Sakura back. _If you weren't such an ass to begin with, we wouldn't wave this problem!_

Sasuke groaned. "I know I'm an ass, but I can't help it sometimes! My anger gets ahead of me!"

"Talking to yourself, Sasuke?" a silky voice said from the doorway.

He turned to see Tsukushi in the doorway. "Yes, I am. I'm trying to figure out how to win back my wife and two daughters."

"What?! You're married?!" she exclaimed, freezing in mid-stride.

"Yes, I got married a little over two years ago."

"Then why the hell did you come to see me?" she asked, clearly puzzled. "You sound like you really love your wife."

"I do, but I just don't know if she'll take me back. To answer your question about why I came to you, I was obsessed with having sons, and I wouldn't accept, let alone look at, my two daughters. Hell, I don't even know what they look like because I banned their names and character traits from ever being spoken in my presence. It didn't help that I saw my wife in the arms of another man when I got back from one of our arguments." He told her, not sure why he even bothered. "I wouldn't let her explain even though deep down I knew that she would never cheat on me because she loves me too much."

"Jealousy and love do strange things to people. I used to be in love with a guy, but he loved someone else. She ended up destroying him and he ended up dead because he couldn't escape from her and he wanted to so badly he took his life. He left me the greatest gift he ever could: a baby. But his bitch of a wife found out that I was pregnant and since she could never get pregnant, why should I? So she killed my baby before I could even hold it. I decided after that that no man could ever replace my love, and I couldn't bear the thought of having another man's child, let alone children, so I got my tubes tied." She said, coming down to sit down at the table with him.

"If he loved someone else, how did he ever sleep with you?" Sasuke wondered, amazed that the guy could betray the woman he loved to sleep with someone else. _Weren;t you about to do the same thing?_

"Towards the end of their marriage, before he killed himself, she got really bitchy, more bitchy than she was before, and he couldn't take it. So he came to me and we got drunk. It was my way of helping him drown out his sorrows. He ended up telling me that he had always loved me, he just thought I loved someone else. I was completely shocked! I told him that I have loved him forever and then next thing I knew we were both naked and having wild, hot sex. Strange enough, we never regretted that decision. Yes, we did have sex more than once, but he never regretted being unfaithful to his wife." She wiped away a tear.

"I'm sorry, Tsukushi. No one should have to go through what you did go through. You sound like you didn't deserve any of it. I agree with you." He said, getting up to hand her a tissue.

"You're right, I didn't deserve that, but you can't reverse fate. I'm sorry about ruining our time together by telling you that I couldn't have children before we did anything. I have to admit that I got you drunk so that you wouldn't back out of sleeping with me. You look stunned, Sasuke. I saw that you weren't too sure about actually following through with your plan. But now that you tell me that you're married, and I can see for myself that you're in love with your wife, and that you know you're an ass, I'm very glad that we didn't do anything. So, when do I get to meet them?" Tsukushi asked, looking around.

"I don't know! That's why I'm trying to win her back! Weren't you just listening?! She left me! She took our daughters and left me! She left the exact day that she found out that I was 'with you' in your room!" Sasuke said, putting his head in his hands.

"Do you think that if I told her that we never did anything, then she'll believe you innocent?" she asked, wanting to help him out of his sticky situation.

"How would you help me?" he asked, clearly puzzled.

"Trust me. I have an idea." She smiled mischievously.

* * *

"Shikamaru! Open this damn door! It's not very funny anymore!" Sasuke demanded, pounding on Shikamaru's front door. 

The door opened slowly and Shikamaru stepped out. "What do you want?" he asked, eyeing Tsukushi warily, even though Sasuke knew that Shikamaru was happy to see him finally coming after Sakura.

"We need to talk to Sakura. Please Shikamaru! It's really important." Sasuke declared.

"Why should I let you see her? You could end up hurting her again, and Temari would have my head if I ever let you near her and she got hurt. She's very…fragile, Sasuke." Shikamaru stated. "What do you want? I can relay the message for you."

"Do you want me to answer truthfully? I want my wife back. I want to hold her in my arms. I want to kiss her every second I can of each day. I want to make love to her and have her love me back. I want to tell her that I love her very much, and I was a fool for not realizing it sooner. I want to tell her that Tsukushi and I didn't do anything at all that night. But most of all, I want to see my girls and tell them how sorry I am that I completely ignored them. I want to hold my girls in my arms and tell them that I love them whether or not they are girls or boys." Sasuke said, his voice catching on that last sentence.

Tsukushi had tears come to her eyes. _Now here's a man in love if he can say he doesn't care if he never has any sons! _She looked at Sasuke's friend, and could tell that he was just as affected by Sasuke's statement as he was. When she looked over at Sasuke, she saw a father very desperate to see his daughters, and to hold his wife again. To feel her acceptance and love. _I hope she realizes what kind of a man she has, regardless of how he treated her in the past. At least he wants to atone for his past mistakes now. I just hope they can overcome their differences and hurt to move on._

Before Shikamaru could answer, Sakura was there. She gave Shikamaru a grateful smile and turned glaring eyes on Sasuke. "And how the hell do you suppose you could ever prove to me you didn't do anything with this woman? And why the hell should I believe you? And why the hell should I give a damn about anything you have to say?"

_I need to find a way to convince her! _Sasuke thought, thinking really hard of a way.

Tsukushi just smiled. "I have one question for you Sasuke: If you and I had sex, then you would know that I have two tattoos on my body. Where are they and what do they look like?"

* * *

To Be Continued... 

I am sorry that I left it like this! I hope to update next week sometime! Definitely before the weekend!

NightBeast


	11. Temari's Baby

Heart of Ice  
Ch. 11  
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto  
Pairing: SasuSaku  
Author: NightBeast

* * *

Sakura had yelled at Saskue, then slammed the door in his face. _Why should I listen to him? So he can break my heart again? _She marched upstairs to her room. Well, the one she shared with Noroi and Kiko. 

She took in her surroundings, noticing all the baby toys thrown all over the floor. She saw the closet that held all of her clothes in it, and all of her shoes stacked neatly on the floor. She saw the cute little dresser where her little girls kept their clothes. _Why should I let him come and ruin our safe home we're in?_

She sat down on the bed, torn between running back downstairs and throwing herself into Sasuke's arms and the choice of running away from everyone so that she could be completely safe. _It's amazing how…different I feel without him. I thought I would be good, but I am not! I feel like an even bigger whole is located where my heart used to be. I feel lost and alone. I want him to come back to me. I really do, but not enough to risk my daughters and their happiness and safety._

She got up and went to Temari's room and knocked on the door. "Temari? Can I come in?"

"Sure!" Temari answered brightly.

Sakura opened the door and was surprised to see Temari still in bed. "Have you not moved from this spot for the past week? Every time I see you, you're in bed!" Sakura joked.

"Well, I have been orderd by my husband to stay in bed." Temari said, smiling.

"Why?" Then a thought struck her. "He's not coming back up here anytime soon, is he? To do anything with you?"

Temari laughed. "No. He won't touch me or do anything physical or intimate with me until nighttime. Too great a risk if the kids come in."

"That makes sense." Sakura said.

"Did you come here for a specific reason?" Temari asked, knowing her friend too well.

"Actually, yes, I did." She looked at Temari, then wanted to know exactly why she was in bed. "You're not sick, are you?"

"Are you trying to distrace me from your problem?" When Sakura just blushed, Temari continued, "I just found out that I'm two months pregnant! Shikamaru wants me in bed so I don't lose the baby. It's happened every time that I've gotten pregnant."

"Have you ever lost a baby before?" Sakura asked.

"Yes, I have." Temari answered calmly.

"Care to share?" Sakura asked politely.

* * *

Temari's Story

* * *

"Okay, I'll tell you everything if you really want to know. 

"Remember how I told you when you first married Sasuke that Shikamaru and I weren't in love when we were married, either? Well, to be completely honest with you, we were enemies. We couldn't stand to even be around the other person for very long.

"Before we became betrothed, we would actually try to kill each other. But once we became engaged, we decided that it would be in the best interest of our villages to try to stop murdering each other, and to try to actually get along. It was what was expected of us. But it definitely didn't stop the murderous glances, or even the hateful glares that I cast him whenever I thought no one else was looking.

"He actually seemed okay with 'getting along. Much more than I was. You see, everything about him annoyed the shit out of me. He was lazy, and whenever we'd fight, he'd be close to beating me. He did actually manage to beat me a couple times. I was very surprised. How could someone so lazy be so strong?

"Soon, I gave up wanting to kill him because I decided that it just wasn't worth it. If he could get along with me, then I could get along with him. I started this game of if Shikamaru could do something, I could do it even better.

"Well, that stupid game almost cost us our lives. You see, on the morning of our wedding, my brother told me what was expected of me. He said, 'Temari, you damn well better produce an heir for Nara by this time next year or else! You need to put aside your pride and your ego and submit to your husband. He's going to have sex with you tonight and any other time he wishes in order to get his heir, so you better get ready and used to it!' When he was done, he just stomped out so that I could finish getting ready. I was startled at Gaara's outburst.

On our wedding night, I decided to be 'better' than Shikamaru when we slept together. As soon as we came together, I was stunned. It was beautiful! Not like anything I could've ever imagined! And the way we fit together! It was amazing! The only problem was that we didn't change that much towards each other. He was kind of trying, but my stupid pride would not let myself change.

"One day, a couple months later, I found out I was pregnant. I wasn't sure what to do next. Did I tell Shikamaru? Did I choose to keep it a secret until I was showing and it was time to tell him? Should I let him think that I've gotten fatter? I didn't know! In the end I chose to wait for a good time to tell him. I could have told him any time, but I didn't.

"Another month went by, and he still hadn't noticed that anything was different with me, and I still hadn't told him about the baby.

"We were sent on a mission during my fourth month. I was so excited to binally be on a mission again that I forgot I was pregnant! I don't know how that happened, but it did! The thought occupying my head were those of proving myself to be a better ninja than my husband.

"It's funny now that I remember this, but on that mission I realized something: I realized that I loved Shikamaru. That I'd loved him for a long time, but I didn't want to admit it to myself.

"As you can quess, we were attacked. Stupid me tried to take on half of them by myself. I was too busy trying to show off to pay attention to what kind of ninja they were or to notice that some were behind me, moving in to attack me from behind.

"Shikamaru screamed, 'Temari! Look out!' He even tried to protect me by trapping them with his shadow, but he wasn't fast enough. The last thing I remember before everything going black was Shikamaru's worried expression as he bent over me to take care of my wounds.

"When I woke up, he said, 'Temari, I love you so you better not scare me like that ever again!' I was confused, and thought I was asleep. I mean, Shikamaru couldn't love me. Then I remembered the baby! I looked down, but my lower body was in pain and covered with blood. He then told me that I had lost a lot of blood from all of my battle wounds. I knew that the baby was gone. I started sobbing uncontrollably and Shikamaru was very worried. I told him about the baby and how sorry I was for not telling him sooner. I even apologized for my bad behavior since the beginning and how much I loved him.

"He just put his arms around me and told me that he was sorry, too, and that we would definitely have more kids. It would also be more special because they would be born to us out of love instead of the hate we had had towards each other. Well, mainly me towards him. He made me promise to tell him as soon as I found out that I was pregnant."

* * *

End of Temari's Story

* * *

"Temari, I'm so sorry! You must've gone through hell during that time! I didn't think that it was that bad." Sakura said, hugging her friend. 

"Yes, I did, but Shikamaru helped me get through it. He grieved, too, and it helped strengthen our love and our newfound bound." Temari answered. "Now, missy, what did you want to talk about?"

"Sasuke's here and wants me to come back to him! I'm so confused! Part of me says yes, but part of me says no! Which part do I listen to? I also feel bad because I slammed the door in his face after yelling at him." Sakura whined, putting her head in her hands.

"I kind of understand how you feel. Part of me loved Shikamaru while the other wanted nothing to do with him. I didn't have exactly your problem because Shikamaru actually tried to get along with me and make our marriage work. The only thing I can do is offer you advice, but I don't know how good it will be. I can't make the decision for you." Temari said, bringing Sakura's head up.

"Why can't you make the decision for me?" Sakura asked even though she knew why.

"Because it's something only you can answer for yourself. How much do you love him? Enough to give him a second chance?" Temari replied.

"Some friend you turn out to be!" Sakura said sarcastically.

"I'm serious. Sometimes people learn the hard way, and they need that second chance to undue everything that they've done the first time around. Trust me, I know. I've been there. I've needed my second chance, or else I wouldn't be where I am today. Maybe Sasuke's sincere. Maybe he's really learned his lesson. If you need to, lay down some ground rules. Tell him how it's going to be. How it **needs** to be. Don't let him get away, either. If you think he's worth it, and you know that you can trust him again, don't let him go. Maybe you need that second chance with him. Maybe you did some things that you need to correct, or do better. I don't know everything about your relationship with him, but from what you and Shikamaru have told me, I know that there is a lot of work that could be done on both parts."

Before Sakura could reply, the door opened to reveal Shikamaru. "Sakura, Sasuke would like to talk to you. I believe him, and I did question him quite thoroughly. Please, go talk with him. Hear him out. He's in your room. Now go!"

Sakura cast a pleading look at her friend, but she was waving her on. "Scream if you need Shikamaru. He'll come faster than lightning to save you."

Sakura nodded, then left. _Okay, Sasuke. Here's your second chance, just like Temari said. Please don't blow it! _

* * *

Temari looked at Shikamaru. "Do you think she'll be okay?" 

"Of course! Do you really think I'd let him talk to her if she wouldn't?" Shikamaru answered, coming to sit on the bed. "Besides, he really does love her."

"No, you wouldn't, but I just had to ask." Temari replied, regarding Shikamaru closely. When he kept coming closer, she asked, "What are you doing, Shikamaru?"

"Showing my wife how much I love her and appreciate her presenting me with another child soon."

"Not for another five to six months!" Temari giggled.

"Sh. Don't ruin the moment." Shikamaru bent down to kiss her, and Temari lost all conscious thought of the two people down the hall in Sakura's room…

* * *

To Be Continued… 

**POLL:**

**A.-SHOULD SASUKE BEG SAKURA TO COME BACK?**

**B.-SHOULD I HAVE A SASUKE AND SAKURA MOMENT? WITH LEMON?**

**PLEASE R&R WITH YOU VOTE AND COMMENTS!**

NightBeast


	12. Together At Last

Heart of Ice  
Chapter 12  
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto…  
Pairing: SasuSaku

* * *

A.N.: This is what I came up with from the reviews that I got! Oh! Keep reading! Don't stop b/c it may look and sound boring, but it'll get better! **A LOT** better! I love all of you guys for reading this!

* * *

Sakura took a deep breath, calming her nerves. _Don't worry. Be calm. Try not to worry about the end results as much as how we achieve them._ She tried to calm herself down, but it didn't work too well. _I just really need to calm down!_ She placed her hand on the knob and slowly turned it… 

Sasuke sat on Sakura's bed, looking around very much the same way Sakura had earlier. He noticed all the toys that his daughters played with. Seeing them, he went over to pick one up. It was a girl doll who had green eyes and long pink hair. She had a red head band in her hair and a long red dress with black spandex shorts. _Just like Sakura wore when we were training to become better ninjas._ He looked at the other dolls and was surprised to see that the other dolls where of the other different teams and their respective clothing. When he spotted the doll that looked like him, he picked it up. He looked at the fine details of the doll, and noticed how this one looked better than the rest. _Sakura, what have I done? What have I done to us?_ He placed 'himself' back down, but his eyes caught sight of two other dolls that he didn't recognize at all. He picked both of them up and realized that these were his daughters. _The bigger one looks just like me, and the smaller one looks identical to Sakura! No matter what, they will both be heirs to the Uchiha clan, regardless of the fact that they can't carry on the name. They're Uchiha's by blood, and Uchiha they will always be!_

He put the dolls back and went to sit down on the bed. He remembered some advice Shikamaru and Naruto had given to him. They had pulled him aside wondering how he would win back Sakura. He had replied, "I am not exactly sure. I do know, however, that I'm not letting my anger get the best of me! I'm going to remain calm."

"That's good, Sasuke. You're finally learning, but I'm still going to give you advice. You can take it or leave it, the choice is yours. Be honest with her. That's the most powerful tool to unlock a heart or gain forgiveness." Shikamaru said.

"Sorry to remind you, but you need to do both. " Naruto finished.

They had kept talking for awhile, then Sasuke had left to think about what they had told him.

_Honesty is the key! I need to remember that!_ Sasuke thought. _But I'm going to go about it a different way…_his thoughts were interrupted by the door opening and Sakura stepping in. _She looks like a breath of fresh spring air. _"Hello, Sakura." He said in his deep voice.

"H-hello, Sasuke." She replied, looking at the floor. _Nerves of steel, Sakura! Nerves of steel! _She snapped her head up and looked him in the eye. "Shikamaru said you wanted to talk with me."

"Yed, I did. Do still want to talk with you." He took a deep breath to calm himself down. "Sakura, will you talk with Tsukushi please? I really want to prove that I didn't sleep with her."

Sakura stood there, not answering right away. "I suppose. I really want to believe that you didn't, Sasuke."

That was all he needed. He bounded off of the bed and hugged her. "Sweetheart, please believe me. She's the only one that I attempted to sleep with, but my head was filled with thoughts of you. I couldn't even take my thoughts off of you for one second." He nuzzled her neck, and when she inhaled sharply, he figured that she liked what he was doing. He brought his head back and looked into her eyes. What he saw there encouraged him. _She still loves me. I just need to show her that I'm serious and that she can trust me._ He brought his head down and placed his lips gently on hers.

Sakura stiffened as soon as he touched his lips to hers. She was about to pull back when he brought his hand up slowly to cup the side of her neck, rubbing his thumb on the underside of her jaw. His other hand was running through her hair, dislodging it from the neat bun that she'd had it in. When he ran his tongue softly along her bottom lip, then softly between her lips, she couldn't stop her response. She circled her arms behind his neck, bringing him closer to her as she opened her mouth for him. He slipped his tongue into her mouth, and she eagerly met his tongue with hers.

Sasuke brought his body so that it met with hers. He nearly lost it then. _She's so soft and tastes so good! Why haven't I noticed before?_ Just when he was about to move on to the next step, she moved away from him.

"No…don't touch me. We need to talk. I won't let you hurt me again, Sasuke Uchiha. I can't risk my girls, either. They're too fragile." Sakura said, and he almost started crying.

"Sakura, I'm really sorry. You have no idea how much I regret my past actions. How much I want to undo the past." Sasuke said, starting to move closer to her, but stopped when she backed away. "Will you listen to her now?"

Sakura sighed then said, "Yes, I will."

"I'll be right back." He left to go get her, and returned a few minutes later with Tsukushi.

"You must be Sakura, Sasuke's wife. He's told me so much about you and how lucky he is to have you. You're very lucky yourself to have this sexy man so in love with you." Tsukushi said, holding out her hand.

Sakura took her hand in hers and shook it. "It's nice to meet you. I'm sorry if I'm being rude, but did you sleep with my husband?"

"To be honest, I did want to, but he couldn't stop saying your name and how much he loved you and only you after he had passed out from drinking too much. I didn't want to after he had said some other things regarding his anger towards you and how much he regretted it now. And if you don't believe me, ask him to tell you the shape of my tattoo and the location of that tattoo."

"Well?" Sakura asked, looking at a confused and stunned Sasuke.

"Um…" he said, at a loss for words. "A heart on your left breast?"

Tsukushi laughed. "Nope. It's in my southern region and it's a pot with honey overflowing from it." She turned around and showed Sakura so Sasuke couldn't see. "And I don't have a heart tattoo." She lifted up her shirt so that Sakura could verify it.

Before she could answer, the door burst open, and her daughters came in. "Mommy, look!" Noroi shouted, holding flowers. When she saw the other two people in the room, she darted behind her mother, soon followed by her sister Kiko. Noroi got close to Sakura's ear and whispered, "Mommy, he scares me."

Sakura turned to look at her oldest, but not before she saw the hurt and pained look that flashed across Sasuke's face, indicating that he had heard what Noroi had just told her. "Darling, take your sister outside to play. We'll talk later." With that, Noroi and Kiko left.

Tsukushi looked at Sasuke then Sakura. "I think that you two have a lot to talk about, so I'm leaving, too." When she left, there was an awkward silence.

Sakura went to put her hand on Sasuke's arm, but he pulled away. "Sasuke, I'm sorry. No father should have to go through with hearing their own daughter say that they are afraid of them."

Sasuke sighed. "No, that's my fault. I deserved it for the way that I treated you and them. You've done a good job with them."

"Thank you!" Sakura said, blushing.

"I'd like you to know that I'm really sorry, and what she said was true. I love you very much and I'm sorry for all the hurt I've caused you. I finally realized that you're the reason that I got out of bed each morning. To see your smiling face and even to watch you do things. You taught me how to love, and I grew to love you very much. Please, give me a second chance. Let me show you how much I love you every day for the rest of our lives."

"Oh Sasuke!" She flung her arms around him again and kissed him.

He took that as a good sign and picked her up and placed her on the bed following her down to the soft mattress. He deeping the kiss, exploring her mouth with his tongue while his hands roamed her body.

He trailed his hands up and down her body, cursing why she had to wear a button-up shirt. Then it hit him. _Hopefully it will work! _He bent down and whispered, "Wanna go home to finish this?" _Please say yes!_ His eyes must've told her he was begging her to go home because she just nodded. "I'll be right back."

"Where-?" _are you going? _She finished.

When he returned, she looked at him questioningly. He just said, "Shikamaru and Temari are going to watch the girls tonight and bring them back tomorrow sometime, okay?"

"That should be fine." She replied, shocked.

He went over to Sakura and picked her up bridal style. "Then let's go home." He carried her home ignoring all the curious looks and shocked expressions. He set her down on the bed and asked, "Now, where were we?"

"I believe you were here…" she trailed off, guiding his hand to the bottom of her shirt.

"Oh yes." He started to unbutton her shirt. He popped one button out of the whole while pressing soft, nibbling kisses on her lips. He popped the next one out. He felt the warm, smooth stretch of skin beneath his palm. Pressing her lips open with his, he found her tongue and sucked lightly. Two more buttons came undone. He heard the slight hitch in her breath as the cold air caused her to shiver. Anticipation thrummed through him. Muscles grew tight with tension. Her mouth opened more eagerly for his, and her hands clutched at her shoulders. Finally on the last couple of buttons, he pulled the fabric apart, barring her breasts to his gaze. He pulled off the shirt completely.

He pulled down her skirt, thankful it wasn't too long. Now that she was only in her underwear, he let his gaze travel her body. Her long lean form was a delight to his eyes. _Why haven't I taken the time to love her like this before?_ Spreading his hand over her rib cage, he kneaded lightly, until he was brushing the undersides of her breasts. He unhooked her bra, wanting to touch her without the lace contraption getting in the way.

When the bra was removed, he took a nipple between his lips sucked, filling his palm with her other one.

Sakura arched against him, grinding up as she met his hips. "Sasuke, this isn't fair! You're still fully clothed!" she said, gasping, wanting to feel his body against hers again. _This is kind of like our first time together…it's so different._

He pulled his mouth away from her body and said, "If you want me to be naked, then you need to make it happen."

_Fine. Two can play that game._ "Okay." She brought her hands to his hips and lifted his shirt above his head. When she got to his pants, she hesitated, unbuttoning the button slowly. When it finally popped free, she slowly undid the zipper, touching him lightly as she went along.

Unable to stand her teasing any longer, he jerked away from her. "Here. Let me help you." He took off his pants and boxers and came back to the bed with her.

"Much better." She had removed her panties while he was taking off his pants.

He trailed kisses down her body, his hands moving ahead of his mouth. When he got to her core, he put two fingers inside of her, moving them in and out of her, creating a smooth rhythm for her. He could feel her moving with each thrust of his fingers, and wanting to be inside of her before she climaxed, he took them out of her and positioned himself above her and between her legs. Before he entered her, he took her face in his hands and kissed her slowly, then pulled back and said, "Sakura, I love you."

Before she could answer, he drove himself into her, going all of the way to her center. He began thrusting in and out, creating a faster dance with himself than what his fingers had done. Knowing that she was meeting him thrust for thrust, enjoying it as much as he was, he let himself go completely, getting ready for his climax to take control of him. He felt her climax start as his started.

When she climaxed, she screamed his name, and he felt like he was flying through heaven with her.

He collapsed onto her, rolling over slightly, not wanting to crush her. Right before he went to sleep, he whispered, "I love you, Sakura." Before sleep consumed him, he heard her whisper, "I love you, too, Sasuke. My one and only love."

xxxXXXxxx

I hope that you liked it! Sorry if the lemon was bad…this is not over yet! Sorry to disappoint you, but we still have to get him to win his daughters over…maybe another one…

Oh! I am going on vacation tomorrow through the 12th, so I will try to update as soon as I can when I get back! Love every single one of you!

NightBeast


	13. AN! Help!

**POLL/AUTHOR'S NOTE!!!**

Okay...I'm really sorry to do this to everyone, but I need help. I would like to know if anyone has any suggestions about the next chapter.

-How would you have a dad win over his daughters?

-How would you include drama into it?

I kind of know where I want to go, but I would like some help and/or suggestions if you have any! The ideas that I have don't exactly fill two full pages for word. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated! And if not, then I will most definitely have the chapter up at the latest on Thursday. I'm hoping for tomorrow sometime...

I really appreciate the imput! You guys rock!

-NightBeast-

P.S.  
My idea was sort of having a relaxing morning between Sasuke and Sakura, then the girls coming home. After that part, I don't have a clue as to what to do. I already have the morning typed out, it's just the after part!


	14. A Day At The Fair

Heart of Ice  
Chapter 13  
(Shown as 14)  
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto  
Pairing: SasuSaku

* * *

A.N. I know there was one review that wanted me to skip my morning scene, but I want to include it because I feel that it's necessary to continue on with it! Enjoy this chapter from the help that I gathered from all the hints! 

Warning: The content of the lines for Kiko and Noroi are very out of place because of the age difference, but for now, they'll have to work! Noroi is supposed to be only about 18-20 months old, while Kiko is only 15-17 months old...

* * *

Sakura stretched contentedly. "Umm...good morn-" she stopped speaking, realizing that the bed was empty. "Sasuke?" She sat up and pulled the blanket closer to her body. 

The door opened and Sasuke came in wearing her pink, lacy apron holding a tray full of food. "Good morning." He placed the tray down and kissed her.

"Yes, it it. Be careful! I could definitely get used to this!" Sakura said, eyeing him up and down.

"So could I." He took off the apron and revealed his naked body to her gaze.

Tearing her eyes away from his body, she asked, "What's for breakfast?"

"I made eggs, toast, sausages, and pancakes. I also put together a bunch of fruits: strawberries, pineapple, grapes, and kiwi. Hope you don't mind, but we're sharing." he said, getting into bed with her.

"Not at all." She picked up one of the forks and stuck it in the eggs. "Open." He opened his mouth and she put the fork into it. He bit down on the fork and she withdrew it.

"Open." He said to her, smiling as he stabbed a strawberry. She opened her mouth much the same way he had.

They continued eating breakfast, marveling in the simple things they were discovering together.

* * *

After cleaning up their breakfast dishes, Sasuke took her to the girls' old room. "Sakura, I hope you don't mind, but I changed things a little after you left me." 

When he opened the door, she gasped. It was different. Very different. They had a lot more toys than before and they both had bigger and better beds than what she ahd provided for them in her spare time between caring for them and caring for him. "Thank you."

He gave her a quick hug, then said, "I was thinking, would you like to move?"

She turned to look at him, a puzzled look on her face. "Why? Where would we move? When?"

"Did you forget where I come from?" he asked, chuckling.

"No! I just never imagined you ever wanting to move back to that huge mansion." she replied, silently chastizing herself for forgetting abuout his ancestral home.

"Well, all of the staff is still there..." he trailed off, letting her give the final decision, yet not wanting to push her, either.

After thinking about all the facts surronding the move, she finally answered, "If you feel we must, then by all means, please go ahead. I wouldn't mind moving there. We need to tell the girls."

"Are you sure you're okay with it, though?" Sasuke asked, really wanting to make sure she was okay with it.

She rose up on tip-toe to kiss him lightly. "Of course. Haven't you figured out by now that as long as you're with me, then I'll be okay? Well, now that we have the girls, I can't be happy without them, either."

Sasuke hugged her and said, "You know what? I finally figured that I'm the same way."

They continued to talk, exploring different ways about moving. Wanting to do it quickly, they decided to enlist their friends for help. But in the back of Sasuke's mind, he never forgot the look of terror on his daughter's face when she saw him. _Is it because she remembers me from when she was little? Either way, I need to change that._ he thought, unable to wait much longer for his other two girls to be home with them.

Making the most of his time alone with Sakura, he picked her up and carried her to their bedroom, ignoring the look of shock and silencing her protests with kisses.

* * *

After messing around with Sasuke in their bedroom, Sakura sat in the kitchen in her robe drinking water. She was anxious for the girls to be home so that they could be a real family this time. 

She heard the start of the shower then realized that Sasuke was probably going to have to go into work today. As she got up to put the glass in the sink, strong arms came from behind her. "Wanna take a bath with me?" a deep, husky voice asked.

"Well, I would if the girls weren't coming home soon." she answered breathlessly. He had his hands trailing up her stomach to her breasts.

"How did you stay so thin?" he asked, placing his other hand on her waist.

"Excercise. Mostly chasing after Noroi. And running all the errands helped."

"Hn." was all he said, but began to nibble on her neck.

"Sasuke-"

"Hello! How are-!" Temarie began, but stopped when she saw how these two people were dressed and behaving. "Oh my!"

"Um...hello, Temari." Sakura said, she broke away from Sasuke who, thankfully, had on a towel. She got down on her knees and opened her arms, but only Kiko ran into them. Noroi was hiding behind her Temari.

"Hello, Kiko! Did you miss mommy?" Sakura asked, hugging her youngest child to herself.

"Me misseded you, Mommy!" Kiko answered, hugging her mother tightly around the neck. Then as if sensing the man behind her looking at them, she looked up into his eyes. She whispered in Sakura's ear just loud enough to be heard by the other three people in the room, "Mommy! He looks like Noroi!"

Noroi looked even more closely at Sasuke from behind Temari's legs. _Yes, he does._ She thought. _But I still can't forgive him for what he did to Mommy!_ Images of her mother, in a bawl on her bed or on the floor came flooding back to her. _Never again will he heart her!_

"Kiko, honey, um...this is Sasuke...Sasuke Uchiha..." she paused to breathe, then added, "Your father. The father of both of you."

Kiko, not scared at all by Sasuke, stepped away from her mother and walked closer to Sasuke. She regarded him silently, then declared, "Up!"

Sasuke, not knowing what else to do, awkwardly picked up his younest dauhgter who so closely resembled Sakura. "Hello there." He just looked at her, not sure what else to say.

Kiko, undauntered, threw her arms around him and said, "Dadda!" in a very happy voice.

Sasuke let out a sigh. _Thank you! _he thought, hugging his daughter to himself very much the same way Sakura had done, but with him, it was even more special because it was his first hug with his daughter. The one that he didn't want to see-ever!

Sakura watched Sasuke's face: pain flashed, hurt, and then contentment. _It's nice to see them getting along now..._

"I'm going to get back to Shikamaru now because he doesn't know that I brought the girls here." Temari said, and Sakura walked her to the door.

"Thank you, Temari." Sakura said, hugging her friend. "For everything."

"You're welcome, Sakura. I'm just glad to see you so happy now." Temari answered, hugging Sakura back.

"I am. So very happy. And Kiko is, too! But that's because she takes after me in having a huge loving heart!" Sakura said, watching her friend walk down the path to her house.

When she got back towards the kitchen, she heard Sasuke talking to the girls-Kiko, really, and heard that he wanted them to go to the fair with him. _That sounds like fun!_

"Yes! Mommy! Please!" Kiko shouted, noticing that her mother had come into the room.

Sakura looked at Noroi, and seeing that she wanted to go, too, made the decision for her. "Sure! Why not?"

Sasuke shot her a grateful look. "Let's get ready to go girls!"

* * *

At the fair, they walked around, proudly letting everyone know that they truly were a family now. No one could tear them apart and that was final. It shocked some people to see that they could all get along and that...believe it or not...Sasuke has really changed. 

There was one person in particular whom it bugged more than anyone else, and that person was watching them very closely.

Sakura and Sasuke went to play all of the games, and he slowly started to melt Noroi's heart by winning her stuffed animals and trying to talk with her. He also showed her that he is really starting to care for them. Really care for them.

"What do you guys think? Should we find some rides?" he asked, looking from one daughter to the next, then to their mother. She just nodded, smiling at their enthusiastic replys to his question. Shouts of 'yahoo!' or 'yes!' or 'yipee!' filled the air as the quartet made their way through the fairgrounds to the rides.

As they went towards the rides, their shadow never strayed from them, always making sure that he was far enough behind to go undetected but still be able to follow them.

After riding the ferris wheel and a lot of other cook kiddie rides, they decided that it was time to eat something. Sasuke asked what they wanted, and then went to go get it for them. As he was gone, Sakura asked her daughters if they were having fun.

"Yes, Mommy! Hav'n fun!" Kiko answered, smiling and clapping her hands.

"Yes, I am..." Noroi said, but she didn't look like it.

"Sweetheart, what's wrong?" Sakura asked, coming to hug her daughter.

"I just don't want him to hurt you again..." Noroi said.

_How much does she know or remember? What has she heard?_ Before she could ask her a question, something hit her on the head. Before she went unconscious, she heard a familiar voice say, "I don't want him to hurt you again, either." Then she heard her daughters crying for her to wake up, then blackness consumed her...

* * *

TO BE CONTINUED...  
needed to add some...excitement...to it! hopefully it wasn't horrible and that i didn't diappoint anyone. i am going to continue with some of the ideas, i just wanted to publish this chapter. i'm hoping to have the next one published by tomorrow if all goes well...at the latest tomorrow...

NightBeast


	15. Kidnappers

Heart of Ice  
Chapter 14  
(Shown as 15)  
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto  
Pairing: SasuSaku

* * *

A.N. Am I really that easy to read? Hm...I need to conceal it a little better... 

I realized that I made a mistake with their actual ages...Kiko's only 5-8 months old, and Noroi's 17-20...Sorry about the mistake. I wanted Kiko to talk so that Sasuke could have someone who liked/favored him.

Also, I realized that I already killed Itachi, so there goes my plan of it being him...

* * *

Sasuke stood at the food counter, trying to be patient as his food was still cooking and he had not received it yet. _I'm just happy that it looks like Noroi and Kiko are having a good time. _He tried to stop from glaring at the guy to make him move faster, but couldn't hold onto it for much longer. Finally, before he got too angry, the food was ready. _Finally!_

He carried the food back to the table, then stopped in his tracks. "Sakura! Sakura, where are you?" He started getting worried. _Where would she have gone? _He thought for a moment. _The bathroom! That's it! They probably had to go to the bathroom and couldn't hold it._

Sasuke checked every bathroom in the fairground, but there was no sign of them. He then sent out his chakra, trying to see if he could sense where they went to.

As he was searching, he discovered a strange chakra. It seemed...familiar...somehow. When he located that one, he found four others with it. And one was definitely Sakura. _I'd know hers anywhere._

He took off in the direction that he sensed Sakura being. _Wherever Sakura is, the girls are, too._ He ran as fast as he could, jumping through the trees with as much stealth as he could. _Sakura, hold on!_

_

* * *

_Sakura sat up and put a hand on her head. _Why do I feel so dizzy?_ She opened her eyes and saw the world spinnig. _Oh my...so many swirling colors._

After a time, the spinning stopped. She realized that she was in the middle of the forest somewhere. She looked for her girls then remembered that they had been kidnapped-well, she hoped they were with her still and the captor didn't just want her. _Why would he want the girls?_ She searched her brain trying to remember if Sasuke had ever said anything about killing Itachi, his brother. She remembered him saying that he did, so who could've kidnapped her? _Wait a minute! What about that girl...Karin? I think that's her name. He mentioned her and said that she had tried to get him to sleep with her._ She hoped for Karin's sake that it wasn't her because Sakura would kill her if it was.

She got up slowly, trying not to fall over. She heard a little girl talking. _Noroi!_ She walked slowly towards the voice, and was shocked who was talking to her. "Neji! You've saved us! Thank you! Can you take us home?"

Neji looked at her calmly. "Actually, Sakura, I didn't rescue you. I kidnapped you."

She looked at him then laughed. "That's funny, Neji." When she saw that he was serious, she asked, "Why? Why would you kidnapp me?"

"Don't you know? I love you Sakura, and I can't just sit there and watch you get hurt again. Can't you see that he's just going to hurt you again? He's thy type of guy that doesn't change, only when he wants to, and that's not to please you, but himself. He's going to reveal his true nature soon, and I know that it's not who he's pretending to be now." Neji said, going over to her.

"Neji, stop! Why can't you leave me alone? You don't really love me, you just don't like Sasuke and the fact that you don't have any kids because your wife died in childbirth. Don't you see? You're just hurting me more by taking the one thing I've always wanted away from me: Sasuke and his love. Yes, he may be a little rough around the edges, but that's okay! Everyone is! I still love him with all of my heart." Sakura said, moving away from his touch. "Please, take me back!"

Neji sighed but before he could reply, a voice interrupted, "I'm afraid that that's quite impossible right now. You need to stay right there."

* * *

Sasuke was getting closer, he knew it. He could sense the other one...but it wasn't coming to him. _Who is it?_ Then he sensed a fifth one moving in. _Could it be...no! He wouldn't be that stupid, would he? Hyuuga, if that's you, I'm gonna kick your ass real good this time. If you've laid one finger on her or the girls, you are a dead man._ _

* * *

_"Why? And who are you?" Neji demanded. _I was just about to tell her that I would take her back home, too._

"Because I need to kill her and her brats. That bitch stole my Sasuke from me, and I don't appreciate it at all. In fact, I loathe her even more for it." a girl said, coming out of the woods.

"Why did you loathe me before?" Sakura asked, trying to stall for time. _Just keep her talking. That's all we need to do._

"Because you stole Sasuke's heart so that he wouldn't sleep with me at all while we were...working...together on defeating his brother." the girl answered, glaring at Sakura.

"You must be Karin. I've only heard about you once from Sasuke, but as you can see, we're just leaving." Sakura said and made a move to leave.

"No! You are not going anywhere. You and your lover here will have to stay here and you, Sakura Haruno, will have to die." she got ready to strike at Sakura, but Neji stopped her.

"You can fight with Sakura, but after you defeat me." Neji said, coming to stand in front of her.

"Neji, you don't have to do that." Sakura pleaded. _She thinks Neji and I are lovers! Then she can't see Noroi, or she'll know for sure that we aren't._

"How touching. Your lover's trying to save your sorry ass, Sakura." Karin said, laughing. "But it won't save his. Watch as I take away him like you've taken away Sasuke from me."

She charged Neji, but Sakura punched the ground, causing Karin to lose her balance. "Not yet. Neji, I appreciate your offer, but I want you to go sit by the tree." _Where the girls are._ she silently finished.

Neji understood because he went off towards the trees and kept the girls out of sight.

"Wow, Sakura Haruno has strenght. What else do you have?" Karin taunted.

"I have a better personality than you do." Sakura shot back. "Maybe that's why Sasuke's in love with me. He knows what kind of a person you _really_ are."

"Yeah right! He just knows when he finds a slut like you around then he thinks he's got it made." Karin shot back, completely forgetting about the fight she wanted.

"Oh...I see. You think that I'd spread my legs for anyone, right? Well, I'll show you how very right you are. We go back to the village, and we find Sasuke. I go up to him and kiss him and try to seduce him. If he doesn't like it, he's yours. If he does, he's mine and I'll find you someone ten times better than him." Sakura said, silently pleading her to accept.

Karing thought for a moment, then her senses picked up. She smiled. "Fine, but on one condition: whoever is coming towards us right now you have to seduce. Deal?"

Sakura nodded, and Karin thougth, _This is going to be too easy. Hopefully it's someone from her village and can tell Sasuke what's going on behind his back with his precious Sakura!_

* * *

Sakura stood there, waiting for whoever was coming towards them to get there. 

_Please, be someone that knows that I love Sasuke. I can't have him thinking that I don't love him! That would destroy everything we've been working to obtain! I would die if he thought that I didn't love! _She braced herself when Karin said, "Pucker up, Sakura. Here comes your man that you're going to kiss."

_I can do this. Take a deep breath, and I can do it!_ Sakura looked throught the trees where Karin was pointing and her mouth fell open. _Is that really him?_

* * *

Sasuke ran into the clearing and stopped. _What's going on? Why is Karin here?_ "Karin, what in the world are you doing here?" 

Karin just kept on looking at him as if he'd grown two more heads. _No! Why'd it have to be him?_

Sakura just smiled and went up to him. _Seduce him! That's going to be easy!_ She ran her hands up his chest and purred, "Hey gorgeous." Then before he could say anything, she kissed him, taking advantage of his shocked look. She dove her tongue into his mouth, pressing herself against his body. When he wouldn't do anything, she rocked her hips forward, and sighed when his hands came up to cup her hips and hold her steady against him.

After a few more minutes she pulled back, whispering in his ear so Karin couldn't hear her, "Be careful. She thinks Neji and I are lovers, and she doesn't know about the girls being yours. She hasn't seen Noroi yet, so we're safe. Also, act like you like it. We had a wager that if I kissed you and you didn't push me away then I could stop worrying about her interering."

He just looked at her and nodded slightly. "Wow...what changed your mind about me, love?"

Sakura just smiled and said, "You knew I couldn't resist your body for very long, Sasuke."

"That's the only reason? For my body?" Saskue asked, confused.

"Of course! You and your sexy body drew mine to you and now it won't back off of you." Sakura said, rubbing herself back and forth against him.

"Okay! You win! You win! But I've got something that I think belongs to you." Karin's voice interrupted their moment.

They both turned to look at her. "NO!" they shouted at the same time.

* * *

TO BE CONTINUED...  
Sorry about not updating it yesterday...but here it is today!  
Love you guys!  
NightBeast 


	16. Akina

Heart of Ice  
Chapter 15  
(Shown as 16)  
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto  
Pairing: SasuSaku

* * *

Sakura saw Karin holding Noroi and Kiko. "No, please, leave them alone!" She looked around for Neji, but couldn't find him anywhere. She finally found him lying unconscious on the ground a few feet from there. 

"Karin, put them down!" Sasuke ordered, holding Sakura tightly against him as if trying to comfort her.

"Why should I? These brats are obviously yours. Give me one good reason." Karin said, laughing. "I'd be a fool if I did. They obviously mean a lot to you."

"They mean the world to me, and I want you to let them go. Now." Sasuke said, his voice cold and carrying a hint of panic in his voice. "I'll go with you and leave them behind if you promise you and anyone else will leave Sakura and our kids alone."

Karin thought about that for a minute. "Hm...don't think I can believe you. How do I know that you really will?"

"I give you my word." Sasuke said.

"No! You can kill me, or enslave me, just don't hurt the girls. It's my blood that you were after, not theirs. Please, don't hurt my babies." Sakura pleaded, trying to break free from his hold.

"Sakura! Don't. Let me go. I love you, and I want to know that you're safe here. Please allow me that." Sasuke pleaded with her.

"Excuse me, but I'm the one holding the trump card-cards, in this case. And what I say goes, understood?" Karin said, looking back and forth between the two. "Good. Now that I have your full attention, I will continue. Sasuke, if if means that much to you, then I want you to do something for me. Acknowledge this girl as yours."

He was about to acknowledge it, but she went to get another girl that looked exactly like him. "..."

"Sasuke! You said you never slept with her! How could you lie to me? How could you do it?" She struggled against his hold on her. "Unhand me right now!"

He bent down to kiss her neck, hiding that he was really whispering to her. "It's Itachi's child, Sakura. Please believe me. I'll tell you later, but make it look like you don't."

_That's easy! I don't even know if I believe you or not!_ Sakura put her head back and whispered, "Okay." Out loud she said, "Sasuke, you filthy dog! Get off of me!"

"Fine, I will. But my sexy body will have you coming back to me on your own." Sasuke said as he released her. "Karin, you know I could never deny my own child."

"I knew it! Thank you, Sasuke Uchiha! See, Sakura? He really did love me, and this was our proof of that love. Well, loving time...anyway, you're free to go. Here's your brats." Karin said, then started to go.

"Aren't you going to give us my other daughter?" Sasuke asked.

"Do you really want her? Do you love me that much?" Karin asked hopefully, shoving Kiko and Noroi into Sakura's arms.

Sakura fled, screaming, "You low-life bastard! I hate you!" Sakura kept on running back to the village.

* * *

Karin looked afraid. "O-ok-okay." she stuttered. 

"We both know how...eager...you were to spread your legs for Itachi, and thanks to you, you may have cost me the woman I love." Saskue said, extending his hand to the girl in the shadows. When she stepped forward more clearly, Sasuke almost cried. _What has she done to you?_

As if sensing his inner turmoil, she said, "I didn't beat her. Itachi did then when he died, which is thanks to you I might add, Suigetsu and Jugo took over because they thought that it was your child sense they figured Itachi would never beat his own daughter. But they were wrong. They did it because they hated you for abandoning them."

"Just give me the girl so she can have the proper care, and get out of here!" Sasuke said, angry now.

"Okay...thank you Sasuke, and I'm sorry. I had no choice, don't you see? If I wouldn't have tricked you, she would have been stuck with me, and I am having a hard time. You see, Suigetsu is ruling now, and he's horrible. He rapes me every night and I've given birth to four children for him. Three girls and one boy. But he's never satisfied. He beats me, too, whenever I don't do what I want." Karin said, tears glistening in her eyes.

He went stiff as memories of another girl that was practically raped every night. "Karin, where is he? If I can kill him, do you think you could survive?"

"You'd do that for me? After what I just tried to do? Why?" she asked, curious.

"Because I've been in his spot. You see, I used to rape Sakura before I admitted to myself-and later her, that I loved her. When she told me about her feelings when I did it to her, I hated myself. So I can help you if you promise to stay here and protect Sakura for me. I love her, and I know that she'll accept you if you just talk to her." Sasuke said.

"Okay. Besides, she promised me that she would find me a man if you liked her. She's really nice for being married to you." Karin said.

"Thanks." Sasuke said sarcastically.

* * *

Sakura ran through the village, carrying the girls to Temari's house since it was closer and she needed Shikamaru's help. 

She reached their house and pounded on their door. "Temari! Shikamaru! Is anyone home?"

The door burst open and she saw Shikamaru there. "What's wrong?"

"Karin's back, and Neji needs help." Sakura said. "Can I leave the girls here and can we go get Neji and Sasuke?"

"Sure. Let me go and tell her." Shikamaru said, running upstairs. Seconds later he was back and carrying Temari with him. "She'll watch the girls. Let's go."

She filled him in on what had happened. "It's not that serious, but I can't carry Neji back. He should live."

"Okay." They got to the clearing and Sasuke was alone with the girl.

"Sasuke!" Sakura cried, running to him and throwing herself into his arms.

"Sakura! I love you so much!" he cried.

She pulled back after squeezing him. "Who's this?" she asked, smiling at the little girl.

The little girl just cowered behind Sasuke, and peeked at her. "This is Akina. She's Karin and Itachi's daughter, and she's going to be our new daughter. She's three years old."

Sakura crouched down. "Hello, Akina. How are you?"

The girl shyly looked at Sakura. "I'm good."

Sakura looked at Sasuke then back at the girl. "You know what? I'd love to give you a hug. May I?"

The girl looked at Sakura curiously. Then she nodde. Sakura opened her arms and before she knew it, the little girl had flung herself into Sakura's arms, nearly knocking her over in the process.

Sasuke observed Sakura and Akina. _She's the best woman in the whole entire world, and she belongs to me. _

"Sasuke, are you okay?" Sakura asked.

"Yeah. We'll talk later. Let's take our new daughter home." Sasuke said, watching Sakura pick up Akina.

* * *

Sasuke's POV 

_It's almost like I got a second chance with Itachi._ He thought, thinking about himself carrying on the roll of father to Akina.

_Now I can love Itachi the way I've always wanted to, but he robbed me of that by installing a hunger for revenge and murder. Now I can shower all of my love for my brother that was burried on his daughter._ He smiled at the thought, glad he can have something to remember his brother by.

Then a thought hit him. _That means I'm and uncle! Uncle Sasuke...that sounds nice._ He observed Akina from the corner of his eyes. _But she needs a father, not an uncle. Maybe some other day._

He remembered Karin's final words before she left. _Please, bring my babies back to me. I'm going to go retrieve my stuff from our camping area and return shortly._ He hoped that he could convince Sakura to let Karin stay with her and to let him leave.

* * *

When they got back, Sakura dropped off Akina and promised that she'd explain to Temari later. "Sasuke saids he'd like to talk to me privately about something important." 

"That's fine. Leave the girls with us for a little longer." Temari said rushing them out the door.

They walked home silently, neither saying a word. When they got back to their house, Sasuke said, "Sakura, I need to go on a mission."

"When did you find this out?" She asked him.

"Just now." He filled her in on what Karin had told him. "And if that's the case, he deserves to die. If not because of that, then because he beat Akina." He said, referring to Suigetsu.

"I understand...as long as she promises not to try to kill me during the night." Sakura said, instantly feeling sympathetic towards Karin.

"She won't. Don't worry about it!" Sasuke said, kissing her thoroughly.

Someone coughing caused them to seperate immediately. "Excuse me."

They turned to see Karin standing in the doorway. "Hello, Karin. Welcome to our home."

She raised an eyebrow. "Sasuke and I are married, and those little girls are ours."

"Are you serious?!" Karin exclaimed. "You're married?"

Sasuke nodded. "Bye, you two, and please behave." He said, turning to give Sakura one last kiss and nodded towards Karin then leaving.

"We will." They said, then smiled at each other. _Be careful, Sasuke. I need you to come back to me._ Sakura thought, watching the love of her life leave.

* * *

TO BE CONTINUED...  
Hope it was okay...  
NightBeast

Oh! Akina means spring flower in Japanese, so I thought that I'd use it because I thought that it was pretty.


	17. Karin's Betrayal

Heart of Ice  
Chapter 16  
(Shown as 17)  
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto  
Pairing: SasuSaku

* * *

A.N. I hope you don't mind, but i came up with a really fun twist to the plot so bear with me please.

* * *

Sakura sat there, mere hours after Sasuke had left. _I really hope that he comes back to me._ She sat watching the girls play with Karin's daughter...her new daughter. They all seemed to be getting along very nicely. _I'm sorry, Sasuke, but I just don't trust her. How did she even get you to go?_ She remembered her Sasuke's departure and he hadn't taken anyone else with him. _Why in the world did he go alone? _

Sakura went to go looking for Karin, and found her packing up some of her things. "Hello, Karin. Just where are you going?"

"I'm sorry, but I can't stay in Sasuke's house with Sasuke's bitch. I'd kill you before the day was through." Karin said, glaring at her. "I can't stand to look at you at all tramp."

Sakura's mouth fell open. "But you...we...behave...? What?"

"Funny how a girl so infatuated with Sasuke isn't even close to being as smart as him. Listen closely, I hate you. I will always hate you. I can't stand the sight of you. I told Sasuke what he wanted to hear and buttered him up to go do something for me. Simple as that." Karin said, finally done packing.

"You bitch! And you called me one! How dare you! What exactly did you have in mind? Was Suigetsu going to ambush him somewhere along the way? Hm? Is he walking right into a trap that will end up killing him?" Sakura demanded.

Karin feigned innocence. "What are you talking about? I intend to leave to save him before he falls into the trap!"

"What?! You lying, low-life tramp!" Sakura shouted! "There is no way that you're going anywhere."

"I'm not lying about any of my story, my feelings are what I usually do. I've gotten over the fact that Sasuke never wanted me. Suigetsu did, and whether he was nice to me about taking me is not up for discussion! I wanted to take a gamble that Sasuke would keep the brat because it really is Itachi's and Suigetsu didn't want her. The beating of Akina was real. He did. They all did. No matter how hard I tried to stop it. So I just stopped wasting breath. Anyway, Suigetsu and the others are going to kill him for just up and deserting us. They figured that I could convince him to come since I'm the only one who likes him." Karin stated, enjoying the look of shock, hurt, and finally anger that came over Sakura's face.

"You love him yet you led him right towards his death! How could you?! Of all the self-serving motives I have ever seen, yours is pretty good." Sakura said, really enraged now.

"So? I told you that I realized that he couldn't love me, so I figured that he didn't need to be free to love you."

"If Sasuke does die, then I will murder you!" Sakura said, even though she doubted she really could. _Unless she gets me even more angrier._

"Mommy!" someone called.

Sakura ran out of the house, Karin momentarily forgoten. "Yes, sweetie?"

"Play!" Kiko demanded. "Me wanna play!"

"Play what honey?" Sakura asked patiently.

"With Noroi and Akina." she said.

"Go ahead dear."

"Can't."

Sakura sighed. _She's got her mother's stubborness in her alright. Maybe persistance is the right word._ "Why not?"

"They say no."

"Come on. Let's go talk to them." Sakura took Kiko's hand in hers and started walking.

* * *

With Noroi and Akina... 

"Noroi, did you know that your daddy is my uncle?" Akina asked.

"No."

"Did you know that my daddy beat me up?"

"No."

"Did you know that my mommy loves your daddy?"

"No, and my daddy better not love your mommy!" Noroi said angrily.

"Why not?" Akina asked.

"Because my mommy loves my daddy." Noroi said as if it was such a simple matter.

"Why can't he love my mommy, too?" Akina asked.

"Because he's my daddy! My mommy needs my daddy!" Noroi screamed.

"But I thought you said that you didn't like him." Akina asked, sounding confused.

"I don't! You just can't him!" Noroi said.

Before they could continue their discussion, Sakura rounded the corner. "Why can't your sister stay and play with you two? Akina, part of this family is togetherness. You need to learn about Kiko as much as Noroi."

"Okay. I'm sorry. We were just talking about my new daddy and my old one. And my old mommy." Akina said. "Oh! Can I call you mommy?"

"No!" Noroi shouted. "She's my mommy, not yours!" She took off down the road.

"Noroi!" Sakura shouted. "Akina, I would love it if you called me mommy. It would make me very happy. Now, you two play nicely in the front room, please."

She went up the stairs and found Noroi crying on her bed. _She reminds me of when I was a teenager!_ "Noroi, honey, tell Mommy what's wrong."

"Everything!" she wailed.

_She sounds like she _is_ a teenager! _"Noroi, Mommy and Daddy want to make a home for that little girl. You see, her mommy doesn't lover her very much, and her daddy hurts her."

"Just like Daddy did to you?"

_Oh no!_ "Honey, Daddy didn't hurt me by hitting me. He hurt me by not loving me."

Noroi's eyes widened.

"He also loves Mommy very much right now, and says that he's here to take care of us and provide for us a home." Sakura said, reaching out to hug her daughter.

"Did you know that Akina is really your cousin? Your Daddy has a brother and that brother is the father of Akina." Sakura continued, stroking her black hair, just like her father's.

"Really? So she's not my sister?" Noroi asked, amazement written on her face.

"Not really, but we want her to be our real daughter. I want her to be our daughter. But never forget that Daddy and I love you very much."

"Really? Daddy loves me?" Noroi asked, puzzled.

"Yes! Of course he does! Sweetie, every daddy loves his little girl!" Sakura exclaimed. "Daddy just didn't show it very well. He was hurt for awhile, but now he's all better."

"Just like whenever I get an owie?" Noroi asked, understanding clear.

"Yes. Exactly." She hugged Noroi one more time. "Now would you like to go play with your sisters?"

Noroi nodded and skipped from the room. _I didn't realize how much she was hurting!_ Sakura thought as she walked back to the room where Karin was supposed to be.

"Damn it! Where the hell did she go?" Sakura muttered to herself.

* * *

_That was too easy!_ Karin thought, smirking from the bushes. She had exited the house while Kiko was occupying her mother's attention. _Finally, I'll get rid of Uchiha's bastard and get on with my life with Suigetsu!_ She turned to walk into the woods, were she knew a scout would be waiting.

"Is it a go?"

"Yes. Uchiha left a couple of hours ago, even though I gave him some very...confusing directions." Karin smiled triumphantly. She told him the way she had told Sasuke to go. The person laughed, pointing out where she had added stuff and pointed out the really easy path.

_Now you will pay, Uchiha, for rejecting me when you had the chance of a lifetime in your hands_!

But what she didn't realize was that someone was watching her, recording her every move.

* * *

Sasuke kept on walking, trying to figure out the map Karin had given him at the last minute. "Please, be extra careful in these areas." And she had circled all the areas-which were a lot- and told him that the danger was very great_. And I can't let anything happen to me. I have a family to get back to!_ He thought, smiling_. And a wife who couldn't be better_!

* * *

"Shikamaru, I need your help again." Sakura said, coming back from dropping the girls off to play with Shikamaru and Temari's children.

"Yes, Sakura?" Shikamaru questioned.

"How's Neji? That's not what I wanted to know, but I figured I'd ask." Sakura said, stalling.

"He's good. He told me to tell you that he's very sorry for all the trouble that he's caused you and that you shouldn't worry about him bothering you ever again because he's moving out to find TenTen." Shikamaru said, smiling.

"That's good. They deserve each other, no matter what mistakes they both made." Sakura said, then took a deep breath. "Shikamaru, Karin wasn't really concerned about Suigetsu dying. She set up the trap for Sasuke to die, and I would like your help to track him down. I need to save him before they actually do kill him. Please, help me."

Shikamaru regarded her, and before he could answer, Neji burst into the room. "Shikamaru! Sorry, but I followed Karin out of the village and heard her talking to the man she was supposed to meet. They talked, and I got the directions from them how to reach Uchiha in time."

"Neji!" Sakura cried, going to hug him. "Thank you! Thank you so much!" she cried, hugging him even tighter.

"You're welcome, Sakura. I figured I owed it to you because of all the trouble I caused you." Neji said, returning the hug then setting her away from him.

"Very good, Neji. Sakura, are you ready to go?" Shikamaru asked with authority.

"Yes. Temari is watching the girls." She looked at both of them. "Thanks, you guys."

They just nodded and she walked out. _Sasuke, this time I'm coming to save you, and after this, I'm never letting you go!_

_

* * *

_TO BE CONTINUED...  
I may not be able to update until next week some time...Friday at the latest...Monday at the earliest...unless I get to get on later tonight and tomorrow...

NightBeast

Hope you guys liked it and that it was long enough!


	18. Sakura's RescuePart 1

A.N. I am sooooo sorry about the long wait that you had to endure for this chapter! school has been so hectic, especially b/c i have changed schools! well, i hope i still have some fans and that you enjoy this chapter! Oh! one more thing: thought are in a single quote b/c the italics aren't working for me on this computer! Thanks!

NightBeast

Heart of Ice

Chapter 17

(shown as 18)

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

Pairing: SasuSaku

xxxXXXxxx

Recap (in my own words, not what the story lines are): Sasuke just went on an errand that Karin sent him on, and Sakura found out that Karin was really leading him to his death! Sakura recruits Shikamaru, Neji, and Naruto to help her out. Oh, and Sakura and Sasuke have adopted Akina, Karin and Itachi's illegitamate child...

xxxXXXxxx

'Sasuke! Hold on! We're coming!' Sakura thought, running hard to keep up with Shikamaru, Neji, and Naruto.

"Hurry up Sakura! You're slowing us down!" Shikamaru demanded.

"I'm trying to go as fast as I can!" Sakura shouted back, struggling to keep up.

"Get your behind in gear or we'll leave you behind!" Naruto demanded, totally vocussed on rescuing Sasuke-again!

After a whole day of intense running and trying to decipher the map that Neji had heard, they stopped to make camp. Naruto, since he loves to eat, was put in charge of cooking. Much to everyone's dismay, he made ramen for dinner. Sakura was putting up her tent, and smelt the food and instantly felt sick to her stomach. Just as she was about to lose the contents of her stomach, Naruto and Neji walked in, Naruto taking the full blast of it. Both men were instantly concerned. "Sakura! Are you okay?" Naruto asked, ignoring the horrible liquid that was on his shirt.

"Yes, I'm fine. Just feeling a little sick." she replied, knowing that the tide wasn't over yet. "Hold on." She ran out of the tent, into the woods, and continued to vomit. Done, she calmly returned to the tent, smiling at Naruto and Neji like nothing had just happened.

They both looked at her, then Naruto hesitantly asked, "You're not...are you?"

"Am not what?" she replied innocently.

"Not...pregnant?" Naruto asked, blushing.

"Naruto! Why would you even suggest that? And how would you know?" Neji demanded.

"Um...hello? I am married and have children of my own, and I know how Hinata gets whenever she's pregnant." Naruto said, getting angry. "Besides, she is married to Sasuke, and married people have sex, and sex leads to woman get pregnant from having sex!" Naruto exclaimed, angry now.

Sakura placed a hand on his arm. "Naruto, calm down please." After he relaxed, she turned to Neji. "In fact, I think that I am pregnant because I feel the same way as when Noroi and Kiko were born." She paused, letting her words sink in. "But I don't want anyone else to hear about this, do you understand me? Do you?"

Neji and Naruto looked at each other, not sure if they should keep this a secret or not. "Sakura, Shikamaru has a right to know. Then he can keep you out of harms way." Neji said.

"I appreciate the thought, but if he knew, then he wouldn't let me continue. I have to do this! Please understand that! I really have to do this!" Sakura pleaded, tears coming to her eyes. "Karin is going to get it, and if I can't give it to her, then I want to be there when she does get it!"

Neji sighed. "All right. I won't tell."

Naruto was a little hesitant. "Fine, I won't tell either, unless he asks me or if I feel like he needs to know so that he can protect you."

"I suppose I will have to deal with that, won't I?" Sakura said, a little more happier now that she knows that her secret is safe for now.

"Good night, Sakura." Neji said.

"Yeah. G'night." Naruto echoed, walking out of the tent with Neji.

"Good night you guys." Sakura said, walking back into her tent and sitting down on the ground.

xxxXXXxxx

Sakura sat in her tent, thinking about Sasuke. "Oh Sasuke. Maybe this one will be a boy for you." She placed her hand on her stomach, enjoying the feeling of being pregnant, and knowing that Sasuke loves her.

"I hope that it is a boy." She smiled, and said, "Even though I know that another girl would be welcome." She chuckled, not sure if Sasuke could handle an all girl household for much longer.

"Now that we have Akina, it's four to one. It would be nice to have four to two, evening it up just a little."

Sakura lay back, letting her thoughts run wild. She thought of Sasuke. "Please be okay, Sasuke. I don't know what I would do if you were gone already." Tears came to her eyes. "For the sake of your unborn child, mine, and our three girls at home, you have to be okay!"

xxxXXXxxx

Sasuke was walking along the path, taking in his surroundings. He didn't recogninze exactly where he was, but something seemed semi-familiar. 'Where have I seen this before?' he wondered. 'It definitely feels like I've been here before.'

He paused to look at the poor excuse for a map that he had drawn from Karin's very bad attempts at directions. 'Is she purposefully trying to get me lost?' He looked at the map, then studied it more closely, realizing that he had been going around in circles for the past three hours. 'What did she tell me to do?!' He saw that he could have just taken the short cut if he would have taken the five extra seconds to study the map more closely. "How could I have been so stupid!?" he exclaimed, cursing his stupidity.

"Yes, how could you have?" a deep voice asked from behind him.

"Suigetsu!"

xxxXXXxxx

Sakura woke up feeling a lot better than she had last night. 'This is kind of wierd. I've never had morning sickness at night before!' She laughed a little at the thought, even though she was very thankful that she didn't have any sick feelings at all and hoped that it stayed that way. 'It's going to be a good day. We'll find Sasuke, and everything will be okay.'

She got dressed and washed up, then went outside to see if everyone was already up and ready to go. She was surprised to see that only one other person was up: Neji. "Where is everyone else?"

"They went to scout out the area and left me to see to you since you slept in." Neji replied, eyeing her to see if she was okay.

"Sorry. I actually had a good night's sleep last night." Sakura said, going over to her tent to get some food for herself. "What's really going on?"

Neji sighed. "Nothing."

"Don't lie to me. Something's happened." Sakura said, filled with panick.

Neji hesitated a minute. "We think that we've found Sasuke, and he's already been found by the enemy."

"No! It can't be!" Sakura screamed, running towards Neji. "Is he fine? Tell me!"

"Um...we don't know. That's why they left without telling you. They knew how you'd react." Neji turned around, putting his back to her. "But I know how you feel, so I had just made up my mind and was coming to get you so that we could go and rescue him, too. If it were my past wife, or even you, then I would have freaked out and would've chased after her or you."

Sakura went up to Neji and placed her hand on his shoulder. "Thank you, Neji. Thanks a lot. I really appreciate it." She paused, then continued, "You know, TenTen is supposed to be coming back soon, and she's a widow now."

Neji stiffened, then turned around with a mixture of disbelief and surprise and excitement. "Are you sure?" he asked hesitantly.

Sakura just nodded.

Neji took in a deep breath. "Are you ready to go?"

"Yes!" Sakura nearly shouted, starting towards the woods.

"Um...Sakura? We think that Sasuke's this way." Neji said, almost laughing at her determined expression.

"Oh. Right." They both took off, running towards their new-found destination.

xxxXXXxxx

"Naruto! There he is!" Shikamaru shouted. 'Hang in there, Sasuke.'

"I see him, too!" Naruto shouted back.

Before them, Sasuke was looking very worn down and tired out, signs of a long and difficult battle so far.

"He needs some help, Shikamaru. Are you ready?" Naruto asked, ready to kick these ugly bastards' asses.

Shikamaru smiled, too. "Yes."

xxxXXXxxx

TO BE CONTINUED...

I hope that you guys liked it, and I appologize again for not having it updated in a long time! I aim to change that!

NightBeast


	19. Sasuke's Rescue Part 2

Heart of Ice

Ch. 19 (really 18)

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

Pairing: Sasuke and Sakura

* * *

Sasuke flew across the clearing because whoever was stalking him came up way too fast, surprising him. Before he could do anything, punches were flying at him from left to right. 'Since when have I been so week?' he thought, struggling to get up. 

"Hahahahahaha. The mighty Sasuke Uchiha is unable to fight back. Has love and family life made you so soft that you can't fight me back?" a deep voice asked.

"Suigetsu!" Sasuke yelled. "What the hell's your problem?"

"What's my problem? You are, Uchiha. I wanted Karin, and you stole her from me. Maybe not intentionally, but you definitely did. When I wanted to take control over the group, you got it. Everything that I wanted, you stole it out from under my nose. And you ask me what my problem is!" Suigetsu replied, coming closer to Sasuke again, this time motioning a couple of his followers to move up with him. "All of us against this weekened Sasuke will definitely come up with the victory!"

"Don't get your hopes up yet!" a voice came from off in the woods.

"Who's there?" Suigetsu demanded.

"I am Naruot Uzumaki, and we've come to help Sasuke!" Naruto said. "Shikamaru, are you ready? Let's kick some serious ass!"

"I can't believe I'm saving your ass, Uchiha. You are almost as tedious as girls." Shikamaru said, lazily going over to where Sasuke was.

"Yeah, I'll repay you by not telling Temari that you said girls are tedious." Sasuke replied, smiling (I know, shoot me now!).

Naruto walked over to help Sasuke stand up. "Thought that maybe you'd need a hand, buddy."

"Thanks, dobe. I really appreciate it." Sasuke said, looking over at Shikamaru and nodding his head.

"Well, it looks like this is going to be one interesting session between us, Uchiha. Let's see how much you value your friends, and how much they value you." Suigetsu said.

* * *

"Neji, hurry up! We're almost there!" Sakura called. 

"Sakura, shouldn't you take it a little slower? Aren't you pregnant?" Neji said, concern etching his voice.

"I'm not concerned about that right now. I just want to get to Sasuke!" Sakura called back, pushing herself even harder.

"All right, but I think I'll feel better if I carry you." Neji said, speeding up and carrying her with him.

She sighed. 'Thank you, Neji, for caring so much.' she thought, looking up into his face. 'Sasuke, you better be okay or else Karin can kiss her life goodbye!'

Neji stopped, telling her to not make a sound. "I am pretty sure that this is where they are going to be."

Sakura nodded, going as quietly as possible.

Soon, they heard shouts and clashing of metal, and Sakura wasn't surprised to see Sasuke fighting, along with Shikamaru and Naruto. "Neji! We've got to go and help them!"

Before Neji could reply, someone came up behind them, and snatched Sakura from his arms. "Sakura!"

* * *

Sasuke looked up as soon as he heard Sakura's name being called, and almost died right then and there. 

"Sakura!"

Just then all the fighting stopped, everyone looking to see what the commotion was.

"Suigetsu, put her down!" Shikamaru demanded.

"Damn you, Neji! You were supposed to keep her out of trouble and away from here!" Naruto exclaimed.

"It's okay, Naruto. She probably wouldn't have sat still for long. If I am guessing correctly, she forced him to bring her here." Sasuke said, looking from Naruto to Neji to Sakura.

"All right, Uchiha. If you want your precious little wife to survive, then you need to surrender." Suigetsu said, pressing the edge of the kunai to her throught, pricking it enough to draw blood.

* * *

To Be Continued... 

I hope that this chapter was a lot better than the last, and I want to apologize once again because of the last chapter. I think I needed to have one crappy chapter to get back into the flow of creativity! Again, I hope that you liked this chapter!

NightBeast


	20. Sasuke's Rescue Part 3

Heart of Ice

Chapter 19 (really 20)

Pairing: Sasuke and Sakura

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto…

* * *

previously in HOI... 

Sasuke looked up as soon as he heard Sakura's name being called, and almost died right then and there.

"Sakura!"

Just then all the fighting stopped, everyone looking to see what the commotion was.

"Suigetsu, put her down!" Shikamaru demanded.

"Damn you, Neji! You were supposed to keep her out of trouble and away from here!" Naruto exclaimed.

"It's okay, Naruto. She probably wouldn't have sat still for long. If I am guessing correctly, she forced him to bring her here." Sasuke said, looking from Naruto to Neji to Sakura.

"All right, Uchiha. If you want your precious little wife to survive, then you need to surrender." Suigetsu said, pressing the edge of the kunai to her throught, pricking it enough to draw blood.

* * *

Sakura stood as still as possible, not wanting to draw any more attention to herself than was already there. She wanted Sasuke to do something about her situation, but realized that if he did act to quickly without thinking it through then she would most likely die. 'Along with our unborn child.' Her throat closed with emotion. 'The baby that Sasuke doesn't know about yet.' 

"So what's it gonna be, Uchiha? Your wife or your friends?" Suigetsu demanded, laughing evily.

"I think that I'll choose...my friends. My wife means nothing to me. She can't even bear me a son! Why would I want her when if you killed her then I could have free reign to find a woman who could actually give me the son that I've always wanted." Sasuke said, hoping that Suigetsu would release Sakura knowing that he really didn't "care" about her.

"Wh-what?! You don't want your wife?" Suigetsu declared, surprised.

"Nope. She's obviously bad luck because of her not being able to produce an heir for me." Sasuke said, giving his famous arrogant look to Suigetsu. 'Please know that I really do want you, Sakura!'

Sakura huffed. "Fine, you arrogant bastard! I'll just take my own life if you don't want me!" She quickly snatched the knife from Suigetsu's hand, and before anyone could stop her, she stabbed herself, then fell forwards, landing with a thud on the ground.

* * *

Sasuke was frantic. 'Don't scream! Don't scream, Uchiha. You'll let him know that you really did care.' 

Suigetsu was dumbstruck. "Why the hell did she do that? Uchiha, what did you do to her?"

'So that's the way he's playing this. It's all my fault.' Sasuke thought, standing rigidly, looking at Sakura's body.

Naruto and Shikamaru didn't wait for any sign or anything. They charged Suigetsu's group, fighting ruthlessly. They cut down everyone, not leaving a single soul serviving.

"Sorry, Sasuke, but we didn't wait for you. It was too crucial not to." Shikamaru said apologetically.

Sasuke was numb. Somehow, Suigetsu had gotten hit somehow in the cross fire and lay not too far from where Sakura was.

"Sasuke? Hello? Anybody home?" Naruto said, coming to stand in front of him, waving his hand in front of Sasuke's face.

Sasuke was staring blankly at Sakura's body.

"Sasuke, are you okay?" Shikamaru asked, his voice kind and caring.

"Did you not see what happened? Sakura stabbed herself! How could you not see that?!" Sasuke screamed, nearing hysteria.

"WHAT!?" Naruto exclaimed. "Why would she do that?"

"You didn't see it?!" Sasuke said.

"No. I was too busy watching the other guys so that they didn't try anything stupid." Shikamaru answered, looking towards Naruto and Neji.

"I'm sorry, Uchiha, I was watching you and glaring at you for what you said to her." Neji said, still glaring. "How could you?" Neji demanded.

"Don't you know by now that I love her more than anything?! I was trying to keep her out of danger, hoping to surprise Suigetsu so that she could escape or I could rescue her! How could you think that I don't love her? Didn't you see how hard I fought for her after I chased her away?" Sasuke said, getting more and more angrier with each passing second.

"You know what? Fighting about it won't help. We need to go give her a proper burial. After all, she was our friend and comrade." Shikamaru said.

They all went over to where Sakura lay, each mourning the loss of a friend, and in Sasuke's case a lover, wife, and best friend.

No one was surprised when the great Uchiha had tears falling down his face. Sasuke bent down, gently turning her over onto her back. He cradled her in his arms, burying his face in her neck. "Oh, Sakura! Why did you do that?" he cried out, sobs shaking his body.

"Because I knew that you would need the distraction." She answered quietly, not sure if the pain in her chest was anything compared to the pain in her heart over the anguish that was on his face because of her.

"Sakura! You're alive!" Naruto exclaimed.

She laughed. "Yes, I am." She looked up at Sasuke's face, tenderly cupping his cheek. "I'm sorry, my love, for the pain and the scare that I must've caused you."

Sasuke was torn between anger and joy. He chose to let his joy show for once instead of his anger. "That's okay. I'm just happy to know that you're alive!"

Sakura looked at Naruto, Shikamaru, and Neji. "I'm sorry, everyone, if I caused any anger with any of you."

Neji was the only one to answer, and his look said that he was about to give her hell. "Sakura Haruno Uchiha! What the hell's your problem?! You're pregnant, and you shouldn't even be attempting any kind of stunt like that! You could've seriously injured yourself or the life of your unborn child! You shouldn't even had attempted that if you weren't pregnant! You seriously need your head examined!"

Everyone was looking at him strangely. "What? She scared off 10 years of my life! At least!" Neji defended his tirade.

Naruto and Shikamaru answered that they felt the same way.

Sasuke was the only one who had an angry look on his face.

Sakura saw it and quickly said, "Now Sasuke…"

"Don't you dare give me the 'Now Sasuke' shit! I can't believe you! Are you trying to kill our child? Did you really not want it? Do you value it that much?"

"Sasuke! You know that I love you and the child! What was I supposed to do? Just let you die? I had to come help you! Don't you understand that?" Sakura said, tears coming to her eyes.

"I guess that the only thing that matters is that you're safe. Right, Sasuke?" Naruto said, trying to smooth things out.

Sasuke sighed. "I suppose. This matter is not finished, Sakura Uchiha."

"Yes, Sasuke. I know. We'll discuss this later." Sakura agreed, letting him pick her up in his arms.

* * *

To Be Continued…. 

A.N. I hope that you guys liked that chapter! I hope that the length or contents didn't confuse anybody! I just kept going and going! Well, I hope to have this updated soon!

NightBeast


	21. Karin Says Goodbye

Heart of Ice

Chapter 20 (really 21)

Pairing: Sasuke and Sakura

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto...

xxxXXXxxx

A.N. I apologize ahead of time for the long recap...

xxxXXXxxx

Previously in Heart of Ice...

They all went over to where Sakura lay, each mourning the loss of a friend, and in Sasuke's case a lover, wife, and best friend.

No one was surprised when the great Uchiha had tears falling down his face. Sasuke bent down, gently turning her over onto her back. He cradled her in his arms, burying his face in her neck. "Oh, Sakura! Why did you do that?" he cried out, sobs shaking his body.

"Because I knew that you would need the distraction." She answered quietly, not sure if the pain in her chest was anything compared to the pain in her heart over the anguish that was on his face because of her.

"Sakura! You're alive!" Naruto exclaimed.

She laughed. "Yes, I am." She looked up at Sasuke's face, tenderly cupping his cheek. "I'm sorry, my love, for the pain and the scare that I must've caused you."

Sasuke was torn between anger and joy. He chose to let his joy show for once instead of his anger. "That's okay. I'm just happy to know that you're alive!"

Sakura looked at Naruto, Shikamaru, and Neji. "I'm sorry, everyone, if I caused any anger with any of you."

Neji was the only one to answer, and his look said that he was about to give her hell. "Sakura Haruno Uchiha! What the hell's your problem?! You're pregnant, and you shouldn't even be attempting any kind of stunt like that! You could've seriously injured yourself or the life of your unborn child! You shouldn't even had attempted that if you weren't pregnant! You seriously need your head examined!"

Everyone was looking at him strangely. "What? She scared off 10 years of my life! At least!" Neji defended his tirade.

Naruto and Shikamaru answered that they felt the same way.

Sasuke was the only one who had an angry look on his face.

Sakura saw it and quickly said, "Now Sasuke…"

"Don't you dare give me the 'Now Sasuke' shit! I can't believe you! Are you trying to kill our child? Did you really not want it? Do you value it that much?"

"Sasuke! You know that I love you and the child! What was I supposed to do? Just let you die? I had to come help you! Don't you understand that?" Sakura said, tears coming to her eyes.

"I guess that the only thing that matters is that you're safe. Right, Sasuke?" Naruto said, trying to smooth things out.

Sasuke sighed. "I suppose. This matter is not finished, Sakura Uchiha."

"Yes, Sasuke. I know. We'll discuss this later." Sakura agreed, letting him pick her up in his arms.

xxxXXXxxx

Back in the village, Sasuke took Sakura home, giving her strict orders "not to remove your pretty little ass out of bed if you want to live to see our child safely born. You need to take care of your wound." Sakura just glared, and he left her to go get their children.

When he got to the door, Kiko ran up to meet him, throwing her arms around his legs. "Daddy!" she shouted happily.

"Hello sweetheart. Where's my other two girls?" Sasuke asked, bending down and picking up Kiko, looking for Noroi and Akina. Spotting Noroi and seeing the hesitation in her eyes, he got down on his knees and opened up his free arm to her. Noroi, sensing his welcome, ran to him, throwing her arms around his neck. Sasuke sighed, enjoying the loving embrace from his two daughters. 'This is what I've been missing.' he thought, kissing both of them on the forehead.

He looked up, remembering that Akina was there, too. "Where's my other girl?" he wondered out loud, looking around the room for Akina. When he couldn't find her, he stood up, Noroi and Kiko still in his arms, and went to go find Akina.

He couldn't find her anywhere. "Did you girls see where she went?"

"Yeah. This lady came. She say that she Kina's mommy." Noroi answered. "Then Mari took Kina and the lady to Mari's room."

'What? Karin's back?' Sasuke thought, walking quickly to Temari and Shikamaru's room. "Temari? Are you in there?" he called out, hoping that Karin and Akina were still there.

"Yes, Sasuke, come on in." Temari called.

He walked in and saw that Temari, Karin, and Akina were sitting on the bed, and it looked as if they had all three been crying.

"What's going on in here?" Sasuke asked, looking from Karin to Temari.

"Well, Karin came here shortly after everyone left, and we've been talking since then. Don't worry, we were watching the girls, too." Temari answered, motioning for Karin to continue.

Karin took a deep breath. "Well, you see, I figured that I owed Akina here an apology, and that I owed her an explanation. I told her that I loved her and that I couldn't stand for her to think that I didn't love her. I also told her that my life was over and that I had nothing good to offer her. I tried to explain what kind of person I've been, and how I've manipulated almost everyone. I told her how bad I've been treating you and especially how badly I've been treating her. I apologized for how Suigetsu treated her, and how much he loved us in his own way." She stopped, taking a breath.

Before she could continue, Akina broke in. "She also told me that you and Sakura would love me and be my second mommy and daddy and that I should love and obey you and that you two would treat me good and that I would have a good life."

Sasuke smiled. "I definitely think that Sakura and I can do that. Noroi, Kiko, what do you two think? Would you like a new sister?"

They both looked at Akina, then back to their dad. "Yes!" they both shouted.

Akina first looked surprised then happy. "Mommy! You were right! They do want me!"

Karin looked at Sasuke and mouthed 'Thank you' to him, her eyes shining with unshed tears.

Sasuke was looking at Akina, not even noticing Karin's look of thanks that she was giving him. When he looked over at Karin, he just nodded back at her.

Temari got up to grab Kiko from Sasuke. "Come on, girls. Let's go get all of your stuff so your Daddy can take you home." The other two girls followed Temari out of the door, looking back at Karin and smiling encouragingly.

Sasuke looked towards the door as if he was contemplating running from the room.

Karin saw it and smiled. "Sasuke, you don't need to be afraid. I just want to apologize to you know that I am on an apologizing streak. I am going to disappear from the face of the earth, and take on a new identity so no one will recognize me. I don't want to get into any more trouble, and I definitely want a new start. Thank you for taking in Akina."

"You're welcome. Sakura and I couldn't turn away our own flesh and blood, whether it was mine, hers, or one of our family members." Sasuke said, turning to leave. "Take care, Karin."

"You, too, Sasuke. Take care of my little girl. Don't let her forget me!" Karin said, her voice breaking on a sob.

Sasuke just nodded, and kept on walking. When he got downstaris, he motioned for Temari. "Thank you for watching them. Sakura and I appreciate it."

"You're welcome, Sasuke. Anytime. Did you want me to keep them tonight, too?" Temari asked, her eyes smiling.

"No. I'll take them home. Sakura would kill me if I didn't." Sasuke said, flashing one of his rare smiles.

Temari nodded, silently agreeing. "Here are their things." She handed him a bag of their clothes, and he took it, then bent to pick Kiko up.

"Let's go home to Mommy, girls." He held out his hand to Noroi. "Akina, hold Noroi's hand, okay?"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

When they got home, Sakura was sleeping. "Sh. Let's go outside and play."

Sasuke spent the whole day playing outside with his girls, then, after dinner, which Sakura was up to enjoy, they both put them to bed. "Goodnight, girls." Sakura called.

"'Night, Mommy and Daddy!" they all called back.

Sakura and Sasuke walked back to their room, Sakura dreading the confrontation that was coming...

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

TBC...

NightBeast


	22. Author's Note: HOPEFULLY LAST ONE

Hey everyone….I must admit that I feel absolutely ashamed of myself. I swear that I am working on the story now. Things just got extremely complicated at home and I've been just barely surviving lol ^_^ I swear that I am working on the story with renewed ferver now ^_^

If anyone would like to add any suggestions, feel free. I am planning on ending it before February so I can start a new story and maybe actually crank it out so I can finish that one too ^_^

Again, I offer up my sincerest apologies to everyone and promise to do better with updating ^_^

Sincerely,

NightBeast


	23. A Family:Finally!

Heart of Ice

Chapter 23 (Really Chapter 20)

Pairing: Sasuke and Sakura

Disclaimer: I don't own the Naruto story plot or any of its characters, unfortunately…(extremely sad face)

* * *

Recap of chapter 19:

Karin looked at Sasuke and mouthed 'Thank you' to him, her eyes shining with unshed tears.

Sasuke was looking at Akina, not even noticing Karin's look of thanks that she was giving him. When he looked over at Karin, he just nodded back at her.

Temari got up to grab Kiko from Sasuke. "Come on, girls. Let's go get all of your stuff so your Daddy can take you home." The other two girls followed Temari out of the door, looking back at Karin and smiling encouragingly.

Sasuke looked towards the door as if he was contemplating running from the room.

Karin saw it and smiled. "Sasuke, you don't need to be afraid. I just want to apologize to you now that I am on an apologizing streak. I am going to disappear from the face of the earth, and take on a new identity so no one will recognize me. I don't want to get into any more trouble, and I definitely want a new start. Thank you for taking in Akina."

"You're welcome. Sakura and I couldn't turn away our own flesh and blood, whether it was mine, hers, or one of our family members." Sasuke said, turning to leave. "Take care, Karin."

"You, too, Sasuke. Take care of my little girl. Don't let her forget me!" Karin said, her voice breaking on a sob.

Sasuke just nodded, and kept on walking. When he got downstaris, he motioned for Temari. "Thank you for watching them. Sakura and I appreciate it."

"You're welcome, Sasuke. Anytime. Did you want me to keep them tonight, too?" Temari asked, her eyes smiling.

"No. I'll take them home. Sakura would kill me if I didn't." Sasuke said, flashing one of his rare smiles.

Temari nodded, silently agreeing. "Here are their things." She handed him a bag of their clothes, and he took it, then bent to pick Kiko up.

"Let's go home to Mommy, girls." He held out his hand to Noroi. "Akina, hold Noroi's hand, okay?"

xxxXXXxxx

When they got home, Sakura was sleeping. "Sh. Let's go outside and play."

Sasuke spent the whole day playing outside with his girls, then, after dinner, which Sakura was up to enjoy, they both put them to bed. "Goodnight, girls." Sakura called.

"'Night, Mommy and Daddy!" they all called back.

Sakura and Sasuke walked back to their room, Sakura dreading the confrontation that was coming...

* * *

Sakura walked silently, thinking of all the different possibilities that tonight could bring. He was obviously upset because he wasn't saying anything to her. She was honestly afraid of what could possibly happen tonight. With all of the stuff that has been happening between everyone, tonight would definitely be a huge confronation. She opened the door to their room and went to sit on their bed, silently watching him pace back and forth.

"Sakura, I don't know what to say. Why in the world did you do something as foolhardy as that?!" Sasuke was just barely holding onto his anger.

"Sasuke, I couldn't just sit there and watch you get hurt! Did you honestly see me just standing there? Or better yet, sitting at home, worrying for your safety?!" Sakura felt herself growing angry at the fact that he expected her to just sit and wait around for him to protect himself. "I'm sorry, but if you're in trouble, then I want to be there to help you any way, shape, or form that I can."

"Sakura, I forbid you to help me if you're putting your life in danger for mine. Especially if you're pregnant." Sasuke said, his voice rising in volume a little.

"Oh, I'm so sorry for risking your precious little heir to the Uchiha clan. Forgive me for being so careless with his life." Sakura said, sarcasm dripping off of every word she said.

"Don't even start that with me! I don't give a damn if you're pregnant with a girl or boy! All I care about is that it's my baby too, and I want you both safe. You more than anything." Sasuke was yelling now, and he had to stop himself before he said anything that could hurt her, himself, their children, or their relationship. "Sakura, I have come close to losing you many times. Some of my own doing, some of yours. When I thought that I had lost you earlier...I just stopped cold...I couldn't stand the thought of you dying and leaving me here all alone. It's taken me forever to realize this, and I hope that it's not too late to say this, but you're my everything. You're the beating of my heart that keeps me alive, the lungs in my body that keep me breathing, you are even the breath that I take to survive. You're my smiling sunshine in this dark world and I would die if anything caused that sun to go out. My sole existance on this earth is to make sure that you are safe and happy, and to love you with every breath that I take." Sasuke stopped when he saw the tears in her eyes. "What's wrong?"

Sakura started crying harder, and Sasuke rushed to take her in his arms. "Sakura, what's wrong? What did I say to upset you? What did I say wrong?"

Sakura tried to stop crying, but just thinking about what he had just said to her brought back fresh tears. "You didn't say anything wrong. It was just so...beautiful." She started crying harder again, and he just sat there, stunned, and all he could do was rub her back and whisper soothing words to her.

"I love you so much, Sakura. Please believe me." Sasuke tipped her chin back, and kissed her deeply. This kiss was unlike any other of their kisses. It was a meeting of two souls, finally coming together as one. One soul, consisting of two bodies. A chord was formed between the two, linking them in the deepest, most passionate and desirable connection that could ever be formed between a male and female: the bond of true love. They came to each other, but this passionate lovemaking was one filled with love and desire. No one was forcing the other, they came to each other, submitting to each other, and meeting each other halfway. They had never felt such passion before in their lives than that night. It was the beginning of a wonderful relationship between them.

* * *

Sakura stretched contentedly the next morning. Sasuke was up and out of bed, helping the girls with breakfast so she could catch some quiet and rest. Last night had been wonderful. They had made love many times, sometimes it was fast and hard, and others it was slow and soft, each caressing every inch of skin that they could see and touch.

"Daddy, when is Mommy going to be up?" Noroi askesd.

"I don't know, sweetie. I think that it would be safe to go and check on her. What do you girls think?" Sasuke asked, and she could here the laughter in his voice.

"Yes!" all three of them shouted exuberantly.

Sakura smiled, waiting for them to come into the bedroom. She decided to pretend to be sleeping just to see what they would do.

"Now girls, don't just crash in there. We don't want to wake Mommy if she is still sleeping." Sasuke cautioned.

"Yes Daddy." Akina said meekly.

Sakura heard the door creak open slowly. She fought to keep her eyes closed.

"Daddy, is Mommy up? I can't see her very well." Kiko asked, just barely whispering.

"Here." Sasuke said, and Sakura assumed that he was picking her up.

"Daddy, why is Mommy still sleeping? It's almost lunch time!" Kiko said, her voice sounding outraged and not at all in a whisper.

"Because when Mommy's are going to have a baby, they get tired sometimes." Sasuke explained patiently.

Sakura couldn't hold her smile any longer, and she peeked her eyes open a little.

"Mommy! You're up!" Kiko said.

Sasuke gave her an apologetic smile, and Sakura just laughed.

"Why are you laughing Mommy?" Noroi asked.

"Because I am very happy, Noroi." Sakura answered, her smile growing larger.

"Why?" Kiko asked.

"Because I have three wonderful daughters, and a wonderful husband." She said, looking lovingly at each one of them. When Akina blushed and llooked down, she hoped that one day Akina would know and understand her love for her. Even though she wasn't one of her own daughters, a flesh and blood one, Akina meant the world to her.

Sakura held out her arms to them. "Come here, girls." They all rushed to her, practically jumping on her. Sakura took great care in making sure that each one of them felt her love for them, giving each one a hug and a kiss, then settling back on her pillows with them tucked in next to her. Sasuke came and sat down on his side of the bed, picked Kiko up and placed her in his lap, and smiled lovingly at his wife and daughters. Thinking that this was one of the most wonderful moments of his life, he hoped that it would never end, and that they would only get sweeter.

* * *

  
A.N.  
I hope that this chapter was ok. I tried to do a good job on it, but I guess the only way I'll know is if you leave comments ^_^

I would like to continue this story, and I have a few ideas for it to continue, but let me know what you think. Should this be the end? Should I just write one more chapter, an epilogue? Let me know what you think of this too.

Thank you to all who have read my story and liked it enough to keep up with it. Whether they are good or bad reviews, they always made me smile that people were taking the time to read my stories and attempt to enjoy them. So thank you for being open and honest with your thoughts regarding my story. Its been a pleasure writing this story for everyone.

Sincerely,  
~NightBeast


	24. Epilogue: Chapter 1

Heart of Ice  
Chapter 23: Epilogue, Chapter 1

Pairing: Sasuke and Sakura  
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto (unfortunately) or any of the characters (even though I'm madly in love with Sasuke Uchiha, just don't tell my boyfriend lol )

* * *

A.N.  
Really quickly before you read this chapter, I have decided to make an epilogue, but I want to do a good job, so I'm going to make it a couple of chapters. Hope it's good and that everyone's ok with it. And I realized that I didn't do a good job of depicting when different months were, so for our purposes for this epilogue Sakura's nine month is in July…oops…maybe I said too much…. ^_^

* * *

Sakura sat in her chair, watching her family play outside. It was a nice summer day, and she felt like she was about to burst-both from heat and from this pregnancy. She remembered getting abnormally fat, but she didn't remember getting THIS fat. She had talked to Hinata and Temari and they had both told her that yes, she was definitely bigger, but not to worry because not all babies are the same size when they're in the womb. Sakura had felt a little better, but the baby moved 24/7! Whenever she would feel it kicking or punching when it was on one side of her stomach, she would feel it doing the exact same thing on the other side the exact second that it had stopped! It hurt so much to be up and about, too. She had to spend most of her time either sitting in a chair or lying down on her back. Sasuke had become her constant companion, helping her up, rubbing her back, or just being there, holding her hand through all of it. She felt horrible because most of the time she was just so weepy, and she knew that her daughters asked Sasuke all the time what was wrong with her. She cried even harder when he would tenderly say "Mommy's just going through an emotional time right now. When Mommies are going to have a baby, they sometimes just like to cry." That had seemed to pacify them. And she just couldn't stop eating! Everything just grabbed her interest, and she ate ten times the amount of food that she normally would consume. Sasuke had made the mistake of teasing her one day that if she kept up eating at that pace, she'd be as big as a cow. She smiled now, but then she had broke down and cried.

"Mommy Mommy Mommy! Look!" an excited little voice cried out.

Sakura smiled at her youngest, Kiko, and then smiled at her other two girls, Noroi and Akina. Then she gave Sasuke her special smile, the one that she saved just for him, and he smiled back at her. She watched as Kiko brought up a caterpillar, her face radiating pure joy at her treasure. "Mommy it's a pretty cat'pillar!"

"It is, isn't it?" Sakura said, reaching out to touch the furry little creature. "What did you name it?"

"Cat the cat'pillar!" Kiko exclaimed excitedly, and everyone around her smiled.

Sakura was happy that Akina had grown accustomed to everyone, and wasn't as shy and withdrawn as she was before Karin had left for good. She and Noroi had actually grown really close, as if they had been born twins instead of cousins. Akina had also started addressing her and Sasuke as "Mom" and "Dad" instead of just nodding politely at them whenever they spoke to her. She was just as excited about the baby as the other two were.

"Mom? Would you like me to get you something to drink?" Noroi asked, coming over and putting her hand over Sakura's stomach, which was something everyone had taken to doing ever since she told them that they could feel the baby moving.

"That would be wonderful Sweetheart. Thank you." She smiled gratefully at her daughter.

"Would you like anything to eat?" Akina asked, not wanting to be left out.

"You know, some ice cream would be lovely." She looked at her husband, and when he smiled, she said, "How about we all go eat some together? It'll be like an ice cream party!" Shouts of "Yes!" and "Yay!" could probably be heard from halfway around the world that's how excited everyone was.

"You just made three little girls very happy love." Sasuke said, coming to stand behind her. He tenderly rubbed her shoulders, trying to ease the knot of tension that was there.

Sakura laughed. "I know! They deserve it. Besides, it's too hot out here to not get such a tasty treat after playing outside."

"It's not that bad. It's quite comfortable actually." Sasuke said, a teasing light to his eyes.

"You're incorrigible!" Sakura said, tsking at him. She laughed at his grief-stricken face.

"I know, but you still love me," he said, bending over to kiss her lightly. "I'd better go see what the girls are up to. Just sit here and relax!" He said the last part sternly, giving her a look that said, "And I mean it!"

She watched him go, wishing that she could go and help, too. She missed being able to move around freely, even though she would never trade her baby for that freedom. She wanted this baby desperately. She hoped that maybe this would be the boy that Sasuke wanted, even though she never told him that. She didn't want to lead him on, and he was pretty content with having another little girl. Maybe this time a mixture of both of them. But she wanted a boy. She loved her girls, but a boy would contribute to balancing things out a little. She couldn't help it, she needed to get up and stretch. She stood up slowly, keeping in mind that she was heavier in the front than she normally was, and proceeded slowly an upright position. Just as she straightened, she clutched her middle.

"Sasuke?" she called, her voice full fear.

She heard his pounding footsteps running through the house, the girls pitter pattering ones behind his. "Sakura! I told you not to get up!" Then he saw that she was in pain. "What is it?! What's wrong?!"

"I think…I think my water just broke…"she said, gasping.

* * *

So, what did you think?

~NightBeast


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